redhairedashreads's reviews
4731 reviews

 

3 stars - I liked it

Xanthe, a Dark Fae assassin, has always hidden her emotions to do her duty. But when her identity is compromised and she trades undercover work for guarding the Queen, she finds herself showing emotion again, especially around Chancellor Aubrey Riordan. When an attack on his life happens, Xanthe finds herself taking care of him and fighting her feelings. 

This was an enjoyable dark fae story. I like that we are revising the Other land and the Dark Fae court. Xanthe was introduced in the previous story, Devil’s Gate, and she is now returning home after her mission. I liked Xanthe. She was strong and capable but also compassionate and kind. She has had feelings for Aubrey for a while but taking care of him makes them grow and bloom into real love. 

Aubrey slowly falls for Xanthe as she watches over the queen then takes care of him while he was injured. I liked how once he realized he wanted her, he didn’t hold back and let her know how he felt about her. Their relationship was sweet and low-angst, which is always great. 

Overall, this was a good novella and I liked revisiting the Dark Fae court. It was also great to see how it has changed and how Ninaine and Tiago are doing. 

 

4 stars - It was really good

Seremela Telemar has always been more comfortable chatting over a dead body than drinks but when her niece goes missing she has to step out of her comfort zone. She finds herself headed to Devil’s Gate with the handsome and attractive vampire Duncan Turner. While they are both attracted to each other, they have to put it on hold while dealing with saving Vetta and themselves. 

While short, this was a wonderful Elder Races novella. I really liked Seremela and Duncan in the previous books so I was so excited that they were going to be the next couple in the series. Seremela is a shy middle-age medusa who just wants to rescue her wayward niece. I really enjoyed seeing her step outside her comfort zone and brave the dangers of Devil’s Gate. Also I love how her snakes acted around Duncan. They were so smitten with him it was adorable.

Duncan is a vampire lawyer and Carling’s youngest progeny. He has been one of the main vampires in this series so I was excited that he was finally finding love. Duncan is smitten with Seremela from the beginning and he uses this trip to assess her feelings and plan out how to get her to go out with him. I really loved how hard he fell for Seremela and how protective he was of her. It was sweet and perfect.

Their relationship is fast paced and they don’t get to spend a lot of time working on it until the end of the book but I still really enjoyed all the dialogue and adventure they had until then. I really loved this couple, even if we didn’t get a ton of time with them just focusing on the relationship. 

Overall, this was a really enjoyable novella and I loved this couple. I hope these two show up in future books so we can see how their relationship has progressed. 

TW: runaway teenager; violence and death; 

 

2 stars - It was ok

When Claudia was driving through the Nevada desert she didn't expect to find an injured dog on the side of the road. She is determined to save it and with the help of a nearby vet she does. But she also begins to suspect that this isn’t a normal dog, she thinks it might be a wyr and if so that means this wasn’t just animal cruelty, but attempted murder. 

While I did enjoy this book, I had a few issues with it around the romance part. First, I really liked Claudia. She was competent and knew how to take down her enemies. She was just a badass, 40 year old veteran who doesn’t take any shit. Luis was a 27 year old wolf shifter who was sent to investigate the mines in this town but ran into trouble.

The fight to determine what was going on at the mine was interesting and I enjoyed that part of the book. What I didn’t really enjoy was the romance between these two. Yes the attraction was there but Claudia knows right away that as a human she will die before he does and doesn’t want to continue their relationship. As you can imagine, Luis wasn’t happy with this and just refuses to accept her decision. I was expecting more of an actual conversation between these two about what they wanted in their relationship or lack thereof, and it was just disappointing to not have any of that happen. I felt like they turned into stupid teenagers at the end who don’t know how to communicate. 

Overall, this was just ok as I was executing more from this couple. I am interested in seeing what the young Medusa at the end has to do with this world though. 

TW: animal torture; death of friends/comrads mentioned; 

 

 

While I hadn’t heard of this podcast before seeing this book advertised earlier this year, I instantly knew it was one that I wanted to read. This book discusses death, funerals, last words, coffin confessions, executions, death dolls, pet cemeteries, spiritualism, and so much more. I really enjoyed the blend of humor and information in this book. It made learning about a topic that some people are disturbed or scared by fun. I always enjoy learning more about death, death practices, and people’s responses to death so I quite enjoyed this book. 

While I hadn’t heard of this podcast before, I will now be checking it out because these two did a great job at narrating and bringing these stories to life. 

TW: pet deaths; grief; murder; descriptions of decay; 

 

3 stars - I liked it

When Alyvos and the gang set a routine pirating mission they never expect to find a ship filled with mass death, or for it to have a human survivor. Iris learned the hard way that a rebellious captive is not wanted. She was beaten, tortured, and blinded because of it and now she doesn’t fight back. But when she is rescued she struggles to come to terms with her new freedom and her growing feelings for her rescuer Alyvos. 

This was a very emotional and darker themed book compared to the others in this series. Iris didn’t get saved before bad shit could happen to her. Iris was a fighter but now she is a survivor. She is agreeable with everything because she is fearful of more torture, even though she knows she is free now. The majority of this book focuses on Iris coming to terms with the fact she is free, finding something to do with her time, and dealing with her growing attraction to Alyvos. I enjoyed her story, but at the same time not a ton happens in this book because its focused on her healing. 

Alyvos has been the brawler throughout the series but in this we get to see the caring and protective side of him. He takes care of Iris and just wants her to realize she is free, but he also pushes her hard to show emotion and react. I got a bit tired of him getting mad because she wasn’t reacting when it had only been a few weeks since she was rescued. She has a lot to overcome and it won’t be instant, so I didn’t love how pushy he was at times. 

Overall, I enjoyed this one even though it was darker toned. I like that everyone is finding their mates and the crew is continuing to save humans. I can’t wait to see how Sentorr’s relationship goes. 

TW: slavery, rape, torture and mass death; PTSD and nightmares; 

 

TW: eating disorder and vomiting; anxiety; alcohol use; discussions of racism  and pressure of fame; 

Laurie is a young writer who hopes to get his big break by interviewing heartthrob chef Oryan Adjei. He is a huge fan but as the interview progresses he realizes that Oryan has a lonely life and isn’t actually happy. As they meet for more interviews, they find that they are both falling for each other but will they have the confidence to take the next step.

This was a very sweet story that touched on a lot of heavy topics. Laurie is dealing with an eating disorder and anxiety. Oryan is dealing with the pressures of fame and coming to the realization that he doesn’t want to be famous, he just wants to cook. These two have a very cute friendship that builds as they slowly get to know each other through text and the interviews. I liked seeing them both overcome some of their issues and take the step to be together. 

My one complaint is that Laurie’s eating disorder is not really discussed even though they are clearly still struggling with it. I was expecting more of a discussion between Laurie and Oryan about it but that never happened. The main focus of this book was mostly around Oryan and his issues and I felt like Laurie got overlooked a little. But, I still really enjoyed this story and thought it was a very cute graphic novel. 

 

4 stars - It was really good

When Grace’s sister and brother-in-law are both killed in a car accident, Grace inherits the power of the Oracle of Louisville, as well as her sister’s two young children. She may not be prepared for either of these responsibilities but she is doing the best she can. Then Khalil, Djinn Prince of House Marid, decides to offer his protection to Grace and the children and everything changes again. 

Grace and Khalil’s relationship was a slower building one that was centered around taking care of the children and learning about the Oracle’s power. Grace is a strong woman who has been through a lot in a short amount of time. She lost her sister, gained the power of the Oracle, has to take care of her niece and nephew and is struggling to pay bills. I really liked Grace and that she didn’t care that Khalil was a prince and never viewed him as someone high up in the Elder Races. She treated him like a person and he didn’t know what to do with that in some ways, which I always enjoy. 

Khalil is an ancient djinn and he doesn’t understand humans and morality at first. But as he gets to know Grace and the kids he realizes how fragile their lives are and how they make the best of their mortal lives. Khalil starts as an aloof djinn but quickly relaxes and starts getting feelings for Grace. These two have a slow building relationship that starts as a reluctant friendship but quickly grows to more. I really enjoyed how the relationship built between everything they were dealing with and that it never felt like either plot was getting abandoned for the other. 

Overall, this was another wonderful Elder Races story. I liked getting to know more about the djinn and about the Oracle. This world continues to grow and become more fascinating with each book and I can’t wait to see what will show up next. 

TW: discussions of car accident that killed her sister and brother-in-law; grief; gas explosion and fire injuries, including in a child.

 

 

3 stars - I liked it

When Alice Clark stumbles upon the body of her friend that was murdered her life changes forever because the detective on the case is her mate. Now these two have to deal with their intense new feelings while trying to stop a serial killer. 

This was a great little novella set in the world of the Elder Races but involves two totally new characters so you don’t have to read the previous books to follow this. Alice and Gideon have a very fast paced relationship. They know instantly that they are mates and the feelings hit hard right away. I enjoyed their relationship but would have liked to have seen more get to know you scenes, but this does take place over a day and a half basically so it makes sense that not all of the get to know each other stage will fit. 

Like I have said about previous Elder Race books, I love the wide variety of paranormal creatures in this. I was not expecting the kind of wyr that Alice was and it was a very interesting learning more about the different wyr in this world. Also some of the atrocities that have happened to wyr over the years. 

Overall this was a great little novella and I really enjoyed getting to know more about what an average supernatural may experience, since so far all the main novels have been about powerful members of the races. 

TW: death of friends; grief; 

 

 

4 stars - It was really good

When Rune agreed to a favor for Carling’s help in saving his friend Tiago, he never expected it to be about saving her. Carling’s powers have become erratic and her followers have left out of fear. While these two work to figure out what is going on with her power, they find themselves falling for each other at the worst possible time. 

After meeting Carling in the previous book I was interested in knowing more about her and her life. She is a powerful vampire who gave up her place as queen of the vampires to join the council and is a powerful magic user as well. At first Carling is pretty emotionless and closed off from life, but as this book progresses Rune helps her come back to life in a way. She starts feeling emotions again, like desire, and starts wearing modern clothes, all while dealing with her erratic power and the fear of death. She realizes she hasn’t lived this long to just give up now and I liked seeing her embrace life again, even if it is only temporary.

Rune is the carefree sentinel who agreed to a bargain with Carling to save Tiago’s life. He quickly changes his opinions on Carling and agrees to help her figure out what is going on with her power. I liked Rune a lot in the previous books and he just grew even more on me in this. He may be carefree but we quickly see that he still is dangerous and extremely protective of Carling. 

Carling and Rune had a very enjoyable romance that grew as they worked together to find out what was going on. I liked that they both fell hard and fast but were fearful to admit it because of the circumstances. I will be interested in seeing how their relationship progresses in future books without all the danger driving them.

The Elder Race world continues to grow in this one. We are introduced to more vampires, an Oracle, a djinn, the Elder Races council, and to a lot of different magics. I really love how rich this world is with magic and creatures and I can’t wait to see what will pop up in future books. I feel like I can never guess what appears. 

Overall this was another really enjoyable Elder Races book. I can’t wait to see what will happen next and who will fall in love with whom. 

 

 

Like all the previous Sarah’s Scribbles books, this was another enjoyable and very relatable collection of comics. This one is a bit different from the other’s though because the second half of this book includes short reflection essays and early work of Andersen. She discusses the progression of her artistic style and how her views have changed as she grew over the years. I liked seeing how her style has changed and what she regrets or was surprised by. 

Overall, a great collection of new comics and a great reflection on her work over the years. I can’t wait to see more comics in the future.