He’d once called her dangerous. And he had been right. Aya was not a pawn. She was a spy. A warrior. A weapon.
Aya has returned home at last. But she is not the same person who left Tala all those months ago. And Tala isn’t the same either. The threat of war that could destroy the realm continues to grow and she is the only one who can save it. Because she is the Second Saint. The bringer of hope. The light in the darkness. Blessed with powers not seen in centuries. But there are those who stand to use her power for their own gain and Aya learns that danger is closer to home than she ever could have imagined.
Whilst I hadn’t read book 1 in the series, I didn’t struggle too much with keeping up with the main plotlines and character development.
Aya and Will are essentially committing treason against their Queen for the good of their realm. The Queen is on a power-trip and claiming to hear the voices of the banished Gods (never good when someone is hearing voices!). They have only just made new allies with Aiden and his sister Jodie. It’s hard work overthrowing cruel and corrupt despots!
But now they have to attempt to fit back into their lives, keeping their new found romance a secret and try to find ways to save their realm. I have to say Gianna is a complete dictator and she had no compunction torturing Aya’s friend for her own ends.
The plot is windy and twisty and I did get confused a few times. However the pacing is good and I enjoyed the variety of characters. There is representation for LGBTQIA+ and a few of them could also possibly be neuro-diverse.
I did find Tova quite hard to like, even after being tortured! Similarly Lena was a bitter pill but I quite liked her brother, even when they were on opposing sides. If Aya is going to be a SpyMistress, she really needs a lesson in subterfuge and subtlety – she is sometimes as subtle as a brick to the noggin! LOL
Ex-MI5 operative Joe Mason is on a mission to rescue a friend who has been kidnapped. Meanwhile, ancient coins – remnants of a Chinese casino buried for six hundred years – are starting to surface in Japan’s clandestine underworld.
Mason knows the coins and kidnapping are linked. Someone has finally unearthed the long-buried ancient casino, and its riches – both financial and archaeological – are now up for grabs. But hidden forces are desperate to conceal the discovery and take it for themselves, kidnapping and killing to silence anyone in their path.
In a high-stakes battle to reveal the casino to the world, Joe and his team race across the region, from high-rise Hong Kong to Tokyo’s bustling markets to the covert gambling rings of Osaka. But they are being hunted by elite forces – and it’s only a matter of time before the target on their back catches up with them.
In this perilous quest for the world’s oldest casino, Mason must find the site before his enemies find him. But can he unearth the secrets of the gold in time?
Joe and the others from Quest are back and they’re in for a bit of a whirlwind adventure! They are on the hunt for a mysterious ancient Chinese Casino. Their only leads are a handful of old coins and the bloody trail they have left across the world.
From England to Japan to the USA and China – our plucky band of misfits are determined to outwit (and out muscle) the latest bunch of baddies. The SED are completely horrific and could be the worst in humanity that Joe and the others have had to face so far!
We get to meet another of Quaid’s paramours – that man really is the love ’em and leave ’em type. Roxy is still my favourite of the squad I think, she’s just a powerful woman, unafraid to use her strength and willing to do whatever needs to be done to quell the baddies. But that woman has some major demons and I don’t know if she’ll ever outrun them.
I really do hope we’ll see more of Luciane and Anya!
She pulled him close, in a desperate, perfect embrace. She loved him. And she would burn this world for him…
Gwen must free the Prince in Iron, before his mind is torn apart.
For centuries, Mordred ruled over Avalon and caged its magic. Now the elementals have seized power, sentencing him to an eternity of torment in his own magical prison.
Gwen accepted Mordred’s punishment to save his life. But the love that binds them cannot be denied. She vows to find him and release him, whatever the cost.
Mordred’s time is quickly running out. Trapped inside the Iron Crystal, he burns with rage and desire, haunted by shadows of the past. His sanity hangs by a thread.
Gwen will destroy anyone who stands between her and the crystal. But is she freeing the man she loves? Or unleashing a power more vicious and terrifying than Avalon has ever known?
What an ending to a great fantasy series! Be ready to let out a sob or two ‘cos not all of your secondary character favourites are going to make it to the end!
Gwen and Mordred have kept us hopping over these 4 books. They are at odds as often as they are working together. They love and hate each other in just about equal measure. Mordred is just about ready to blow up his world – talk about morally dark! Gwen just wants everyone to get out alive – neither are going to get what they want.
Mordred really was put in an untenable position and tried to do what he thought Arthur would want and then when that reveal comes alone – blam his whole reason for being in the state he is, well it’s kind of whipped from under him!
There is more than enough action and I loved that the human inhabitants of Avalon and Camelot are finally getting involved – as outmatched as they are they are saying ENOUGH! There is spice and smexy thoughts and some hates&x at times.
At times I wanted to cry and hold Mordred’s hand and others times I wanted to smack him on the head. Gwen was still quite naïve in her dealings with these duplicitous Fae – I had hoped she would have grown a few more callouses on her soft heart but then she wouldn’t be Gwen I suppose.
My favourite secondary characters remain Eod, Mae and Tim – I really loved the rickey buckets of bolts that made up Gwen’s army!
Ava Bellerose may use men to charge up her healing magic, but that doesn’t mean she wants to date one. She’s fine living life as a single witch working a day job as a college librarian and spending nights as the masked performer Pearl at The Jewelry Box. Every routine on the stage means more magic power in the bank, courtesy of the customers craving her body. One man in particular can’t seem to get enough. Ava finds perverse pleasure in ignoring his money and denying him anything more than a distant dance with zero eye contact. His admiration is intoxicating and the magical boost is all she needs from him. But the guy becomes impossible to ignore when he shows up outside of her apartment.
Their meeting must be fate…
Sammy Reyes can’t believe his luck. While visiting a new build site for work, he spots a heart-shaped behind and a pouty set of lips he’d recognize anywhere. Unfortunately, Pearl–or Ava–seems less than enthused to have her secret identity revealed, even if he promises to take her secret to a watery grave. From her hostile greeting, the gorgeous witch might be the one to bury him at the bottom of the Mariana Trench. But Sammy has spent his whole life charming people, and he’s determined to prove himself as more than a faceless fuel tank of lust. Especially when Ava makes it abundantly clear his money has no sway on her affections.
To woo the librarian, the water elemental will have to dive deeper than his normal surface-level charisma. But just as Sammy starts to show the vulnerable heart behind his confident mask, Ava’s two lives collide in the worst way. Can she risk stepping out from behind her own protective walls, or will she leave him wanting?
Genre: Contemporary Romance Tropes: Small Town/Neighbours/Tattooed Bartender/Hollywood Alpha Release Date: June 20, 2024
Celebrity dog trainer Prudence Cassidy never imagined her life would be like this. Filming in Hollywood went haywire when she caught the charismatic Mr Hollywood’s eye—but Prue doesn’t have room in her life for complications. She’s still recovering from retrograde amnesia so she flees to Robertson, home of the ‘Big Potato’ in country Australia, determined to start anew.
For Darius Dalton, family comes first. Always. His architectural dreams can wait while he tends bar in the family restaurant in Robertson, dazzling patrons with his cocktails whilst maintaining the complex he built with his late father. Day in, day out, work is all he sees—until Prue.
When she moves into his apartment building, Darius falls head over paw for the animal-loving brunette—and it seems she feels the same way. Their chemistry is undeniable. The more time they spend together, the more Darius questions if he can have it all: a life outside of work, and love.
When Mr Hollywood himself comes to town, intent on winning her back and casting her simple life in the spotlight, who will Prue choose?
That’s the thing about the past—your dirty laundry will always find you.
Jennifer Ryder is a bestselling romance author who loves to write about small towns, swoony heroes and strong females who aren’t afraid to fight for what they want.
A born and bred Canberra girl, now living on a rural property in New South Wales, Australia, she enjoys the best of city and country. Her loving husband is ever willing to provide inspiration, and her two young cherubs, Jack Russell named Buddy and sheep that don’t see fences as barriers, keep life more than interesting.
Genre: Romantic Suspense Tropes: Small Town/Opposites Attract Military Protector Romance Release Date: June 18, 2024
Dead to their pasts. Ghosts. No family ties. No connections.
Six men with a top-secret mission move to a small town where they have to navigate local life, protect their secret, and, above all, stay single.
Former Hostile Operations Team soldier Blaze “Shadow” Connolly knows what it’s like to lose everything. He’s got nobody except his job and his team and that’s the way he likes it.
But when he walks into a gas station during a robbery and locks eyes with Emma Grace Sutton, he knows he’ll do anything to protect the pretty girl with the blue glasses.
ER doctor Emma had a bright future until her ex-boyfriend became the kind of nightmare she was certain could never happen to her. With her self-esteem shattered and her confidence in ruins, she left a promising career and returned to her hometown to take over her dad’s small family practice. It’s not what she wants, but it’s what she needs to rebuild her life.
Until she gets that prickly feeling she’s being watched again. Did her ex follow her to Sutton’s Creek or is she imagining things? Is she in danger or is it PTSD? She doesn’t know, but she knows a man with the skills to find out. The ruggedly handsome sexy protector who saved her from a bullet once before.
Blaze isn’t supposed to get involved. Doing so could put the mission at risk. But how can he turn Emma away when the desperation in her eyes hints at even darker secrets? He can’t — and that might just be the final nail in his coffin.
A small town, nerdy girl, opposites attract, military protector romance from NYT bestselling author Lynn Raye Harris
“Attraction and arousal are complicated phenomenons. You have to have the right amount of sympathetic nervous system activity. Your heart races, you tingle, and feel jumpy. That’s the fight-or-flight reaction. But then you have the parasympathetic nervous system which regulates the physical signs of arousal, like genital swelling and releasing sexual fluids. Add in the dopamine hits that come from being around you, and it’s a perfect storm of need and desire.” “That’s your reason?” he asked, his voice hoarse. “It’s biological?” “Mmm,” she said, dropping her mouth to kiss his chest. God, this was so unlike her, but it was also precisely what she wanted to do in the moment. His breath hissed in, his hands closing gently around her upper arms. He didn’t push her away, though. “It’s biological, yes,” she said. “But it’s mental, too. Because you’re you, and everything about you makes me want you. Whether it’s biological, evolutionary, chemical—I don’t really care. It’s a need in my belly, in my core, that I haven’t felt before. Nothing about this makes sense to me. And I feel like, if I fight it, if I don’t express to you that I want whatever you can give, that I’ll regret it on some level. I’m tired of living scared. I want to live with the kind of wild joy that comes from choosing to get on the rollercoaster.” His hands slid around her body to cup her ass. Emma had to bite back a groan at the feel of those big hands on her bottom. “I’m a rollercoaster, now?” he asked with a laugh before he bent to nibble her earlobe. “You might be,” she breathed. “But I want to take the ride.”
AUTHOR BIO
Lynn Raye Harris is a Southern girl, military wife, wannabe cat lady, and horse lover. She’s also the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the HOSTILE OPERATIONS TEAM Ⓡ SERIES of military romances, and 20 books about sexy billionaires for Harlequin.
A former finalist for the Romance Writers of America’s Golden Heart Award and the National Readers Choice Award, Lynn lives in Alabama with her handsome former-military husband, one fluffy princess of a cat, and a very spoiled American Saddlebred horse who enjoys bucking at random in order to keep Lynn on her toes.
Lynn’s books have been called “exceptional and emotional,” “intense,” and “sizzling” – and have sold in excess of 4.5 million copies worldwide.
To sign up for Lynn’s VIP Reader List – where you’ll be kept up to date about all of Lynn’s books – go to http://bit.ly/LRHNews.
This series is an off-shoot of the ever popular HOT series and I LOVED it. This time around the team is in deep cover, giving deniability to the President. You wouldn’t think small town Alabama would be a hotbed of espionage, would you?
Blaze aka Shadow is a man who overcame his upbringing. He went from the unwanted and neglected child to an overprotective, special forces soldier. He and his team have orders to stay free and clear, no relationships to leave behind if things go pear-shaped. Sadly, fate said “screw” that and dropped the delightfully nerdy Dr Emma Grace Sutton in his path!
Emma has trauma of her own that’s she’s running home to her small hometown to escape. Now she has a hulking, protective, overbearing and slightly demanding neighbour who seems determined to protect her, even when she tries to head him off at every opportunity.
Emma is an incredibly intelligent, nerdy, determined ER doctor who made a bad choice in the romance department (who hasn’t!) but she refuses to let her skanky ex ruin any more of her life. But the attraction to Blaze is derailing her no men policy fast. Her outgoing best-friend, Rory, adds a splash of colour and humour to her life and I can totally see why these opposites are besties!
I did guess the bad guy but had a great time trying to figure out when Blaze and Co would twig to who he was. The underlying espionage storyline is flowing nicely and I’m intrigued to see what happens in book 2. Fab new story and I heartily recommend this to all my protector romance trope bookdragons!
A fleeting first glance could become a forever connection…
Former SEAL Lane Benning and his friends are in Hawaii for a retirement party hosted by the renowned Brotherhood Protectors. Everything is sunshine and surfboards until a volcano on the Big Island unexpectedly erupts.
Diving in to help, Lane rushes to answer a distress call from the woman he’s been flirting with at their beachside resort.
When Guardian Agency protector Cassie Marner loses contact with her partner and the child he was protecting, she needs backup–fast. The sexy tourist who responds is a surprise, but his military experience quickly proves invaluable.
Rescuing her missing partner and the child are big wins, until gunfire cuts the celebration short. Lane is convinced Cassie is the real target and escalating attacks confirm his theory. Together, they must rely on each other to bring her hunters out of the shadows. Only then will they have a chance to see if paradise can nurture new love into something strong and lasting.
A retirement party for a friend takes on an element of danger when a nearby volcano clears its throat. But when a call from a friend highlights that a child is in danger, Lane jumps into help. When he realises that the Guardian he is set to help is the woman he’s been flirting with, it just amps up his determination to help.
Cassie’s not sure what to make of Lane. He’s been flirty and now she finds out he’s an ex-SEAL. She expects him to take over but finds he is more of team player than she gave him credit for. But when the real target of the plot is revealed she soon finds she needs a protector herself!
I do love a cross over and the Guardian Agency/Brotherhood Protectors world is great one to visit. Cassie is determined, independent/stubborn, a warrior and planner. She is a great partner to Lane, although she is a bit slow to warm up to the teamwork. She wants to see the best in everyone she works with but is willing to see reason when there appears to be a mole.
Brilliant chemistry, witty dialogue and genuinely likeable MC’s. Older than our usual MC’s so they come with a wealth of experience and emotional baggage!
Jingwen spends her nights as a showgirl at the Paramount, one of the most lavish clubs in Shanghai, competing ruthlessly to charm wealthy patrons. To cap off her shifts, she runs money for her grandmother, the exclusive surgeon to the most powerful gang in the city. A position her grandmother is pressuring her to inherit…
When a series of dancers are targeted—the attacker stealing their faces—Jingwen fears she could be next. And as the faces of the dancers start appearing on wealthy foreign socialites, she realizes Shanghai’s glittering mirage of carefree luxury comes at a terrible price.
Fighting not just for her own safety but that of the other dancers—women who have simultaneously been her bitterest rivals and only friends—Jingwen has no choice but to delve into the city’s underworld. In this treacherous realm of tangled alliances and ancient grudges, silver-armed gangsters haunt every alley, foreign playboys broker deals in exclusive back rooms, and the power of gods is wielded and traded like yuan. Jingwen will have to become something far stranger and more dangerous than her grandmother ever imagined if she hopes to survive the forces waiting to sell Shanghai’s bones.
This is one of those books that I was just confused by. I don’t mind a genre-mash up- it can keep things fresh but this one just felt a bit disjointed. If it had been a straight forward crime noir or fantasy it may have just worked better for me.
The author certainly conjured up 1920’s Shanghai for me, the descriptions were so in-depth and sensory laden. However I struggled with Jingwen. She went from flapper girl to gangsters moll to demi-goddess. I’m all for a girl seizing her destiny but I felt that she got over every new reveal so quickly. Magic, gods, body part farmers – she seems to get over all these things so fast! I did sometimes wonder if some scenes were just the drugs/alcohol fuelled dreams of the MC’s. Sometimes one sort of drifted into another and I was a bit lost.
Jingwen comes over as naïve and a “good girl” dancer and wants nothing to do with her grandmothers trade but by the end of the book she’s like a Dancers Triad King Pin! The romance element of the storyline could have been removed completely and the storyline still would have worked – for a gangster he took up little room!
I was definitely left dazed and confused. I may have to give this another read in a few months and see if it sits better with me then – I may not just be in the right mindset for this but it was a solid 3.5 stars – I just wished I could have felt more invested in our MC!
Does an ancient coven hold the key to solving a murder?
Few tears are shed when the unpopular manager of the annual Seacastle Vintage Fair meets a sinister end. But local sleuth Tanya Bowe is thrust into the heart of the investigation when her friend, Grace Wong, finds herself under scrutiny for the murder.
When Tanya’s investigation uncovers a suspicious death in the same family, all bets are off. She navigates dark undercurrents of greed and betrayal as she uncovers a labyrinth of potential suspects associated with an ancient coven. Nothing is as it seems, and every clue adds extra complications. To solve the case, Tanya must answer one main question.
Did someone hate the victim enough to kill her, or was greed the stronger motive?
In this captivating British small-town cozy mystery, a maze of potential suspects, each with their own motives and secrets, will keep you guessing until the very end.
If you relish seaside settings, intricate mysteries, and a touch of wit, buy your copy now and join Tanya on her quest to unravel the truth.
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Tanya and the Seacastle crew are back to crack open another mystery! Tanya really is like Jessica Fletcher – she’s finding bodies everywhere she goes. At least this time it’s Grace finding the body!
It was great to finally see more of Grace and Max, learning about their backgrounds, why they came to the UK, why she is so fearful to be involved with the police. Roz is acting highly weird too. The found family vibes are strong in this series – something I love. Mouse is just so adorable for a teenager – apart from being a bit lost on the old “what do you want to be when you grow up” front, he is such a loving, intelligent and level headed lad.
Who knew the world of Antiquing could be so cut-throat! Dot really is a horrid woman and she was certainly a victim who garnered little sympathy. The storyline zipped along and as usual Tanya et al are integral to saving the day and unmasking the murderer.
I actually found myself warming to DI Antrim in this book – learning more about his backstory humanised him a bit and he certainly relaxes around the Grotty Hovel inhabitants. I must admit I did not guess the murdered this time around – my police colleagues had a hoot at that – they’ve told me it’s just as well I’m not a cop, LOL.
Plenty of humour, cosy vibes and a gentle romance (closed door/off page) between older MC’s. Absolutely adorable series and can’t wait to see what happens next!
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