Winter of The Shadow Fae

by L. P. Dover

 Twenty-five years ago, Alasdair was a sorcerer whose hunger for power brought about a war in the Land of the Fae, intending to place himself in a position over all the Fae. He failed in this, was defeated by the Queen of the Ice Court. As he lay dying, he vowed to wreak his revenge upon those who thwarted his march to power. He transferred some of his powers to his son Kai, then laid a curse upon him. A spell that at some point in the future would drive Kai to kill those who had stood in the way of his father’s rise to power.  He had been but a boy of fourteen when his father laid the curse within him. But it never laid totally dormmate, the hatred simmered within him for twenty-five years, changing him into a hardened heartless man, caring for no one.

In the intervening years, the Land of the Fae had been divided into four distinct lands, Winter, Spring, Summer and Fall. Some of the cruel, hard and fast laws had also been softened. Ella, the daughter of Queen of The Ice Court was coming of age. She would marry and create a new Court, one of Frost and more change would be coming under her rule.

The time had come, Kai would be the means of his father’s vengeance and he would begin with the death of Ella. As he stole into her bed chamber, he leaned over the beauty reposed in slumber upon her bed. No one had detected him. She stirred but didn’t wake. As he looked upon her the desire to kill her was ever as strong, but now it warred with his desire to claim her as his own as well.

Ella was a Keeper, the fae’s version of a guardian angel. When one of her kind were close to death, she was one who would appear to lead them to the Hereafter, the next world where the dead lived on in spirit. She was of an age to marry and claim her land that would become The Court of Frost.  For the last two years she and Iston, an Elven Prince, had managed a close relationship, leading to the belief of all that it would culminate in their marriage. However, Ella had her doubts of late. She’d had a vision of a man with dark hair and grey eyes, emanating power. There was as well a feeling of danger that surrounded him. For Ella there was something about him, that called to her. Told, he was truly evil, one of the Shadow Fae, the son of the sorcerer Alasdair and warned to beware of him. She had to find out more about him. To do this she would have to step into the mortal world of his home.

There was a time when marriages between Fae and humans was forbidden. If a Fae were to go against this law, they were banished to the mortal world for the rest of their days. It was a deadly environment, shortening the life of Fae banished there, some for crimes against the Land of the Fae, some simply by their choice of mate. But times had changed after the war, marriages between Fae and mortals were no longer forbidden and they might choose to live where they would. However, once banished they were not allowed to return to the Land of Fae.

There were times when Ella slipped into the mortal world to retrieve a dying soul to escort the dead to the Hereafter. As she stood by Linnet’s bedside, she felt him slip into the shadows. He was too late. He could only stand and watched as his mother took her last breath. It had been a long time since he’d last seen her. Once they had been close, but his father had changed that, as a boy he taught him to hate, to close off his feelings for anything but the service to revenge. Even so, Kai let another opportunity to kill Ella pass, as she stood with her back to him. Some part of him held him back, while deep inside the spell pulled at him, wanting to taste her blood. He knew he would one day kill her but until that day, he would watch her, get close to see where these strange feeling he seemed to have to protect her was coming from.

It started with a shared kiss. Ella knew who Kai was and wanted to learn more about him and his plans to kill her and her family. Watching him she saw her chance when she grabbed a Draya, a female half Fae, that was part of Kai’s group of Shadow Fae. Taking her back to the Ice Court, she questioned her to learn more of their plans. Ella returned to the mortal world shifting in her appearance to that of Draya to see if Kai would share information with her. What she wasn’t aware of, was that Kai could sense her presence as easily as she could sense his nearness. So, when he grabbed her, taking her in his arms and kissing her both were surprised at their reactions to the kiss that turned demanding and hot. Angry at herself and him she pulled away and ran. No matter how much he wanted to claim her as his own, he knew one day they would face each other with daggers, and one would die.

 There is so much happening in this story.  The story opens as Kai recognizes the time has come for his father’s revenge, for in truth it is his father’s hatred that lives on in his sons. The story may begin twenty-five years after the Alasdair’s death, but gradually throughout the tale the reader learns more and more about the history behind the war, Kai’s role and how it changes after he sees Ella and realizes the strange connection between them is tearing him apart. The story is presented succinctly but with twists and turns that you might not see coming. There is cruel death, a puppeteer who reaches beyond the grave with his hatred to destroy his children by turning them into monsters. There is love so strong it lives beyond the grave.

At first, I wasn’t certain I would appreciate Kai, he was a bit of a cyborg like character that only lived to wreak havoc and death. A man who turned away from his sisters and mother who so loved him, no matter what to follow in the footsteps of an evil psychopath, long turned to dust. Ella too seemed a bit hard hearted. Her relationship with Iston one of protocol and convenience, the merging of two different peoples. But Kai is fighting a curse that he didn’t ask for that has ruled his way of life and changed him from a loving young boy to a bitter killer. Ella cares deeply for her people and would place her life in danger to save them. But she has a duty to her living land, that will some day become her court. So as the story goes on we get a better look at the characters and how they change each other. It is inevitable though that the beast inside Kai won’t be ousted until it has seen the death of Ella. Will he be able to control the curse that holds him or will he be the death of the woman he loves. This is a story that took a minute to find my way in but once there I didn’t want it to end. I will say there are parts that broke my heart but I loved that romantic spicy tale of enemies that loved so well, each would die for the other.

                                             

 Un Match  

       by Eden Dunn

He was different from his public persona, at heart he was a nerd, he just hid it well. He was easy on the eyes, a tough player on the ice and a good time for a lot of women. But they ran through his life faster than fire could melt ice. He wanted what he saw others have in their close relationship with one woman in their life. How to get started was the problem his was too well known and he didn’t want any of the women who just wanted a bit of him, a part of his fame or a good chunk of his money. So, he asked for help and his brother suggested an online dating service. He’d even let him use his picture so no one would recognize him. 

But then he ran into her. A good friend of one of the other hockey players fiancés; she was a single Mom. Those two things alone should have sent him running in the other direction. But there was something about her.

Characters from the first four books come back to play a part in this Tommy and Eleanor story, I enjoyed playing catch up.

This is a turn down the lights low, put on some good music, curl up in a chair enjoy this storyteller’s steamy tale.

Available now on Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0BKP5KP2L?notRedirectToSDP=1&ref_=dbs_mng_calw_4&storeType=ebooks

 Snowlit Christmas Kiss

       by Larrissa Lyons

 

She’s thought her
self free of the betrothal her father had tethered her to as a small child. With the death of Robert her intended, the ties binding her should have been severed. It was Lady Redford, Robert’s Mama, that had asked her to consider accepting her youngest son, and now the standing Lord Redford, as her husband. Anne Larchmont, at 24 years old, was held to be on the shelf at such a great age. Robert not inclined to an early marriage had put the nuptials off several times in the last eight years. Anne was looking forward to searching out a husband of her choosing, but after meeting, spending time with Lady Redford, she found she quite liked the woman and after losing two sons and her husband within months of each other, Anne couldn’t bring herself to refuse the request to at least meet Ward, Lady Redford’s youngest son, just back from the war with Napoleon. Why he was still recuperating from serious injuries he’d received during the war.

For a small reprieve, Anne took off walking to visit her closest friend Isabella Spier, who lived several miles away. She hadn’t counted on the late snow, nor having to assist a tenant farmer’s wife bring her children into the world, nor even the death of the family’s beloved cat, which she promised to bury before heading to her own home. The night was filthy, icy cold, damp with snow and no Moon to light the frozen ground where she was trying to dig a spot to bury the cat. When out of the dark night a man stepped into view. Walking with a pronounced limp, he was missing part of his right arm and looked as weary as she.

Edward, now Lord Redford, had been making his way home after being released from long term care in London. Still not in the best of shape, his left hand still healing after being pinned under an enemy’s horse in battle, his leg to had been broken in a couple of places, and he had lost part of his right arm, but he was determined to find the game keeper’s cottage close to his home. A fellow solider knew Edward needed just a bit more time alone before facing his intended bride and the responsibilities of running the Redford estates and offed him the use of the game keeper’s cottage on his estates close to Edwards home. 

And so, the betrothed couple meet, not by accident though, without realizing who they really are. They spend the night in the game keepers’ cottage and find warmth, laughter, acceptance, compassion for humans and beasties alike. After spending time together, they find they have a very special connection they are comfortable and can talk of anything. They are also physically drawn to eat other. Regretting that they must part come morning but enjoying the hours they have out of time, just being themselves.

Neither realizes that their meeting, strange as it may seem, wasn’t an accident. A beastie had scared Edward’s horse, leaving him on foot, to make his way to the game keeper’s cottage, which in turn led him to making the acquaintance of Anne as she tried to dig the grave for young Owen’s cat, Lord Grayson. There was something in the air, Phineas could smell it.  He had even let out a loud roaring sound to hurry the two young humans through the night so that they might reach the cottage before they froze to death trying in vain to eek out a hole in the frozen ground.

War has taken its toll on Edward and his comrades. He is heartsick, from losing friends in battle, trying to adjust to the lose the better part of his right limb and the slow healing of his other injuries and now to come home to a position of responsibilities he’d never wanted, with the death of his siblings and father. Then to be forced into marriage with a young woman he had yet to meet. Anne is in no better shape. After expecting some latitude of freedom to search out a man of her own choice, she is now considering how she can make her refusal, to marry the newly appointed Lord Redford, her hand in marriage.

We meet an outspoken heroine, who has compassionate nature for all those, no matter their station in life, determined to set her world right. She gave up on having a London season when she found her best friend Isabella was slowly going blind. Isabella’s father just wants to hide her away, as if he were ashamed. But Anne visits her whenever she can, to help her keep up her spirits, but Isabella won’t let a little thing like losing her sight to stop her from enjoying life. Ed has come away from a war that has cost him friends, pain and lose of limbs but he pushes himself to become the head of the family. I loved to fact that several of the chairs in the tale have disabilities but show their strengths by finding ways to pick up life after the horrors of war. This romance that takes place around the holidays makes you want to believe that good things can still come out of the tragedy that is our world.  Larrissa Lyons made me feel like I was back in time, as she wrote of the situations the characters find themselves in, a blind friend whose father appears ashamed of his daughter’s failing sight, no doctor to help a woman in labour, using a shove to dig out a grave in the frozen ground and betrothals where parents choose who you are to marry.  The wording she uses also sets the pace and time for the tale words that I was very comfortable with and enjoyed seeing in print since it had been years, she I had heard or saw in print some of the terms she used.

I enjoyed this romantic story, with a veteran of war who wouldn’t allow his disabilities identify who his was as a man, an outspoken spinster and a shifter that just had to step in and do a little meddling. I was given an advanced readers copy in exchange for my opinion of the book. I found humorous, touching, romantic with language and a few lightly steamed scenes, along with a HEA ending. Enjoy it, I did.

 

The Dance: the Chase Duet

      By Kimberly Knight

Release Date: December 8, 2022

Stacy is a free spirit. A dancer at heart, but her practical side had sent her to college for a degree in business with a miner in dance. She still had little more than a year left at college.  She’d gone to a couple of auditions but hadn’t placed in either. The plan had been to finish school and then find a job. Hopefully as a backup dancer for a group, but if not, she’d have her degree in business.

Blake was a bartender at the Wild Pony Bar. He had a dream too. He wanted to own his own bar or possibly a club, but raising the money needed for his venture was slow going. He’d been walking in the shadow of his older, very successful, brother for some time now making it hard for him to seriously focus on anything, but his dream.

Stacy and Blake had been spending some recreational time together when they needed to let off steam. And he was good at listening when she needed to talk.

 Stacy’s Mom was paying her part of the rent on the apartment, she shared with her friend Molly. When out of the blue her mom called with the bad news that her business had fallen off to the point where she would have to close it soon. Both she and her mom would be in trouble if that happened. It was time for Stacy to step up, try to help give her mom’s business a boost with some new marketing ideas. Soon going to school during the week and helping her mom on weekends started to take its toll on her energy.

In the end it was Molly who suggested a solution for Stacy’s shortage of funds, that might keep her in  school and pay the rent. She introduced her to Sweethearts, a high-end escort service, that paid very well if you were willing to play the game. And she was in…

Blake had asked Stacy to go with him when he visited with his family a couple times to keep his parents from harping on his lack of ambition, higher education and single state. She’d done it, even If, she didn’t agree with his strategy. It was one of the reason’s she had told him about her work with Sweethearts. Until the night she came to the bar to find him after one of the men she dated turned out to be a rapist… leaving her battered, beaten and terrified. He was the one to comfort her, try to get her to report the man and finally took her home and helped her forget.

Then Stacy ran into Eddie, an old friend, the son of a man her mother had lived with when she and Eddie had been teens and their lives took another sharp turn. Eddie had loved Stacy as a teen and wanted to try again to reach her.

The tale takes place over several years, with long stretches between seeing each other, picking up months later. Their lives change and each tend to go their own way at times only to come back together again. There are triggers such as rape, high-end escort services, spicy scenes with open doors and abuse. But the story has heart, characters gradually change trying to learn from past mistakes. There is heartbreak and at times each of them lets the other down. Their lives mesh off and on, but each of the characters have a way to go before they can find themselves on a path to a better life.  But will they ever end up on the same path wanting the same thing, at the same time?  The last page isn’t the end of the story, for me the cliffhanger was heartbreaking. The story will continue with the next book.

This is a book I probably wouldn’t have picked up on my own if I hadn’t been given an advanced copy to read and review. I can’t pinpoint any particular part of the tale when I realized that I really cared about the characters and wanted a happy ending for all of them. I recognized their pain and understood some of the poor decision making while struggling to make their lives work and their dreams come true. I recommend this story if you can get past the triggers, because for me the people felt real; the story snuck up on me, wrapping itself around me, drawing me in.

 I gave it four stars only because I found the blank time slots a bit disorienting to the flow of the story for me.

Shattered Wolf (Shadow City: Silver Mate Book 1) 

by Jen L. Grey

Release date December 8, 2022

 Silver wolves, descendants of an Angel, were more powerful than other shifters and had been hunted for eons, spending their lives moving around to keep hidden from outsiders when possible. They lived by the rule that they would harm neither humans nor supernatural beings, they were the protectors of life. But war had come to them in the form of demons and brought them to the attention of humans, telling others where they could be found. There were others, mostly humans, who coveted the power of the shifters and would go to any means to find a way to acquire the secrets of shifting. And so, begins a new world where supernaturals are hunted and they will have to fight for their freedom. After Jewel’s father, the Alpha of the silver wolves, died trying to save others, her Mother Mila, went on a rampage, blaming those for whom her husband had died. She made life so miserable that Jewel had to get away in order to sort out her pain and find a way to better cope with her loss. What would it mean to their world?

For months she lived with her grandfather’s pack, hours from her home, until one night a friend convinced her to go to the city for a night out, upon their return to the encampment only silence greeted them. As they searched the nearby cabins, they could find no sign of anyone, no signs of struggle. Something was very, very wrong. After noticing the television was still on running a news report Heather and Jewel turned up the volume to listen.  The man in the video would have grabbed anyone’s attention his was gorgeous, but when she realized he was a shifter speaking to humans about the reality of supernatural beings living around them, she realized they needed to get away fast and find help.

But as they left the encampment a black SUV came barreling down the road after them, they were being followed, the driver tried to run them off the road. Barely managing to escape with their lives, they headed for the new home of the silver wolves. Jewel’s terror turned to full blown anger when they finally reached Shadow City and one of the first people she saw was the man, Killian, from the news video. It was all his fault, why was he here with Sterlyn, her Alpha, and other supernaturals?  She blamed him for the disappearance of her family and the pack. Even as her mind told her she despised the traitor, she was strangely drawn to him.  Why was he watching her with such a strange look of longing? She told Sterlyn about finding the empty encampment and the SUV that tried to run them off the road.  Finding the pack members would require Eliza’s, a witch, help but to assist she needed something tangible from at least one of the shifters. They would have to return to the encampment, get in and get out fast for someone fear that those who had followed them would be back with others. Together with Sterlyn, Griffin, her mate, Heather, Jewel and several others they would drive back to the cabins and find what they could.  Killian insisted on going along on the journey, much to Jewel’s consternation.

They’d almost reached the encampment when they saw the smoke and the bright glow from a fire. Most of the cabins were a blaze and falling in unsalvageable by the time they reached them.  Jewel and the others knew that time was short, they had to try to find something they could use in their search and get out before the humans who had torched to cabins came back. But it didn’t take long to realize once again they had run out of time.  The humans came with guns and tranquilizer rifles. It didn’t take a genius to realize that the humans wanted to capture them but wouldn’t hesitate to kill them if they couldn’t. The fight to escape would cost them, they would lose a couple of their comrades before they succeeded to break away and escape.

The story begins with a tale of treachery, hatred towards supernatural beings, hits the ground running with action, blends in romance that blooms even in the midst of terror and fights to bring about justice for everyone.  This paranormal trilogy is full of action, suspense, romance and edge of chair terror. Jen L. Grey doesn’t hesitate to make hard decisions by creating situations where bad things happen to good people in their struggle to remain free. The supernatural world comes together with angels, demons, vampires, shifters and more. She has built a world where there is good and evil on both sides, humans and supernatural beings. Peopled with characters whose lives are very different from each other while they draw strength from their diversity, find mates with whom they can forge loving bonds and join forces to fight for their freedom to live in peace. The story unfolds with light touches of humor, sadness, pain, death and uncertainty in a world ruled by fear, greed, and hatred. But there is also hope.

For a time, I felt like I’d stepped into the world of Indiana Jones, wherever you went you ran into trouble, with no clear end in sight, and an army of elite fighters without mercy, interspersed with people you will come to admire and for whom you are rooting to come out on top. I had a hard time sitting still reading it, I found myself with the tale in hand pacing the floor, laughing, crying, and scared for those held in captivity. I highly recommend this book if you enjoy paranormal situations, romantic suspense and action stories. There are some twists and turns so don’t get too comfortable, you may be surprised at what happens next.

This part of the story ends in a cliffhanger that may leave you feeling like someone pushed you off a high ledge only to catch you and secure you in a net. Just know that the next edition won’t be far behind.

 Books on my mind...

A new book by L. L. Hunter, The Midnight Ball, will hit the streets on Dec. 13, 2022.

 

"In the magical kingdom of Sydlandia, 17 year old Grace is hiding a secret.

When a devasting event upends Grace’s world, it will force her to rethink everything

she’s ever known.

And question everyone around her.

After all, she’s not the only one hiding secrets."

From the bestselling author of The Dragon Heart series and the Legend of the Archangel series, comes the complete Midnight Ball trilogy in one magical collection.

Reign of Secrets

Crown of Lies

Queen of Midnight

A Blaze of Fire 

  By Karina Espinosa

                                                         review by Katy Grant

                    AVAILABLE: Friday  November 4th, 20022

She had left her human world behind to save Ansel. But who would save her from those in the Unseelie Court who would see her dead. First, she was half fae, an abomination in the eyes of the humans as well as in the eyes of the fae. It could be a death sentence for her sire and herself if any found out her father was Kazimir, the Unseelie King’s General. Thankfully, even though she looked exactly like her mother, Kazimir didn’t appear to recognize her.

After speaking to the Seelie Queen, Ansel was allowed to attend the Unseelie Court as an Ambassador, so he could keep watch over Violet. He didn’t like how close his brother was becoming to her. After sneaking into her room to see her, where their passion for each other took over, Alec warned Ansel to stay clear of Violet or he could be the means of all their deaths.

Now within the Unseelie Court, Alec had promised to protect her and to that end he had two loyal fae to stand watch over her. Rose was a Pixie with no powers, a low fae, as her handmaiden and Rook who size and fighting strengths were a bit terrifying. The plan was to demonstrate to the Unseelie King that Violet did hold the Orb within her, therefore having the ability to control and use all four elements, Earth, Wind, Fire and Water. The second purpose, to have her offer fealty to him; the third, to prove to the King that once she was completely trained and in control of her elemental powers, she would be an asset to the Unseelie and not a threat.

To this end, her training began with Kazimir, as an elemental fire fae. When she didn’t show promise soon enough, he pushed her off a cliff towards the rocks and water below. Her elemental wind power stood her in good stead, thankfully. But now she was more than ever, weary of him. As another form of testing, the King decided to send Violet along with Kazimir to collect the taxes from the lower fae. Kazimir and Alec both tried to object, to no avail, since Violet herself stood before the King and accepted the task, unknowing of the cruelty behind the act.

The journey would only take a week after all, what could be so hard about collecting taxes. The first village they came to, Violet realized why both men had objected to her going.  The villagers looked as if they were starving, the huts and town looked to be falling down.  She watched as a villager was being whipped half to death because he had no tribute to offer and refused to give up his young daughter. She couldn’t just stand by and watch. She tried to stop the lashing but was pulled away by Alec and ushered off to the Town Hall. Later, the beaten man lay on the ground, where they dropped him after his lashing, as if dead.  While the others were distracted, Violet asked Rook to help her bring him into the Town Hall where she could tend him. The Fae showed no signs of humanity, no compassion to those who they considered beneath them.

As they left the village and headed for the next, along the trail, they were attacked by creatures of death, Wraiths, flying down from the sky with claws extended. Kazimir ordered men left behind to fight them off to give the rest of them time to get away. But as Violet looked back, she could see those left behind would not survive the attack without help. She broke free of Alec and ran toward them to help even if it meant her death….but as she was throwing fire at the creatures a strength broke free from within her….

She was now in mortal danger if the King found out what she had done.

In these chapters, the Unseelie Court unfolds with all its warts, starting with their cruel monarch pulling the strings of control. From the high fae and their arrogant ways to the inhuman treatment of the low fae, to those who look to a legend to somehow change their realm. She knew she couldn’t stand by and watch this inhumanity continue, she would help where she could, while she was here. Violet never intended to stay in this world. Somehow, she would return to the human world.

 The conspiracies, intrigue, secrets, heartbreak and caring hearts will show themselves. Living among these beings had showed her that they were not always what they seem on the surface. Karina Espinosa has put her own imaginative twist to good storytelling, envisioning the Unseelie Court in her own way. Evil is not always fully evil, characters will grow and change, but will it be enough to save those under the King’s oppression, for any to join in to protect Violet or is there too much fear, self-importance, or self-preservation of the old ways. This tale ends in a twisted cliffhanger that sends a dagger to the heart of this reader.   I love the beginning of this tale “A Hint of Delirium”, the first in this trilogy.  But “A Blaze of Fire” had me wanting to hide in the shadows of this tale to watch, listen and somehow become part of this riveting story.

I was given an ARC to read so that I might share what I saw in this tale. This is what I found.