Review: Brandywine Investigations: Family Matters

Brandywine Investigations: Family Matters by Angel Martinez
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Further tales, with the mix of mythology and imagination, all set in the modern world. Angel Martinez continues her wonderful re-telling of mythological gods from cultures around the world. She continues with the gods and their cohorts, in all at their snarky, sassy, outrageous and funny selves.
This series is well written. The blending of myth, mythology and facts, with modern day technology is beautiful done. And this series is just plain fun to read. I’m hoping for more gods and stories. Lots more stories, think of all the gods that still need their own HEA.

Books, Bulls and Bacchanals

Dionysus, the wine and orgy and party god. The god no one takes seriously. And most of the time Dio is good with that. But sometimes, he’s the out of control, angry god. After taking his anger out on another god, even he knows he needs help with his anger. Off to the Eternal Library for help. There he meets the librarian, Leander, the minotaur. When one of his followers is murdered there, the family comes to help solved the case. And the family keeps underestimating Dio too.
The cast of characters in this story are amazing. I loved the Red Panda library assistants and the gardening mushroom dudes. I think of all the stories in this series, this one is my favorite.

Midwinter Dancing

Interesting interlude between the Brandywine stories. The family has gathered at grandmother’s house for a holiday meal. Ingeborg’s grandmother believes in the old gods and magic. As the odd one out in the family, Ing isn’t sure what to believe. But she’d never tell her grandmother that. Out in the forest to gather firewood, she stumbles across a group of dancers giving a lesson to their sister. The sister is none other than Artemis, goddess of the hunt. And Ing invites her to dinner.
I loved that both Artemis and Ingeborg show up in the next story.

Pack Up the Moon

I have been waiting for Charon, death’s ferryman to get his story. Charon is happy with his service to Lord Hades. And if he has occasional twinges in the region of his heart, well he’s still satisfied with his life. A run in with Azeban, raccoon trickster, leaves him missing his pocket watch. Then Azeban keeps coming around, first returning things and then to take things again. Charon is starting to think the little raccoon is doing this on purpose. And that is fine with him. Something about the little raccoon intrigues Charon. He’s hiding something, he won’t tell Charon what, and he can’t ask for help. But Charon does figure it out and with the help of the gang, they fix the problem, allowing Charon and Azeban to have a future.


View all my reviews

Review: Brandywine Investigations: Open for Business

Brandywine Investigations: Open for Business by Angel Martinez
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is the first three stories in the Brandywine Investigations series. The series is a funny, well written, fabulous retelling of mythology and the Gods that ruled in a wide variety of cultures. But they now live in the modern world. I loved the author’s imagination that she used to create her take on them. They are fun, quirky, snarky, sassy, sexy and downright fun to read.

Canines, Crosshairs & Corpses

Divorce among the Gods isn’t something you expect to hear about. And while he never really loved Persephone, he never expected to be served with divorce papers. And she’s keeping his domain. So, Hades moves to the human realm. And to keep himself busy, he starts a PI business. While investigating a series of murders, he meets Tiberius or Ti. Ti is human, down on his luck. And the next target of the murderer.
There is a gentle building of the relationship between Hades and Ti. Hades gets to find out what real love feels like and what you’re willing to do to protect those you love.

No Enemy but Time

Hades son, Zagreus and his fallen angel, Michael are the focus of this story. Again, there is a beautiful blending of the mythology from various cultures. Guardian Angel Michael is fallen because he fell in love with his charge, Zack. And since his fall, they’ve had a happy life. But things are changing. Michael is no longer stable and he’s going down hill fast. What or who is accelerating the change in Michael?
Of the three stories in this book, this one has the most angst. There is a bittersweet feel to it. You truly feel for both Michael and Zack.

Dragons, Diamonds & Discord

In this next story, we meet a dragon. And as most of us know, dragons are all about their treasures and hoarding of it. Hermes is a businessman with many interests, one of which is high end jewelry. When some of the most expensive pieces go missing, he gathers the clan and investigates. That investigation leads him to Fafnir, a dragon and an author of children’s books and someone Hermes finds smoking hot. Fafnir is going into a hoarding cycle and he’s not sure why. And now he has Hermes invading his space. And Hermes isn’t going away.
The banter between these two was snarky and fun. The sex scenes were hot. And this story was fun.


View all my reviews

Review: Switching Places

Switching Places by Morticia Knight
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Can you say something involving BDSM is sweet? And gentle? Because this story is both, a sweet and gentle romance. It’s also smoking hot when the three characters get busy in the bed or play room. Yet the focus in this story is the romance building between Tai, Master Lucas and Elliot. Of how they are going to balance meeting all their needs.

Tai is his usual sassy, snarky and fabulous self. He’s falling for Master Lucas but can’t do the submission thing full time. Every so often, he needs to feel someone under him. Master Lucas wants thing to work between him and Tai. But he knows that Tai can’t give him everything he wants in a sub. And that he can’t give Tai any little bit of control over him, at all. Enter sweet, shy and inexperienced Elliot. Elliot will be the element that fills both Tai and Master Lucas’ needs.

You’ve met the three of them in the previous books, but I think this could standalone. But why would you start here, when the rest of the series is so great. Get book one and enjoy this awesome series.


View all my reviews

Review: Poke Check

Poke Check by R.J. Scott
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

We are back in the world of the team, the Harrisburg Railers. This time it’s Stan, the goalie’s turn. I’ve been waiting for Stan’s story since we first met him in book one. He was such an engaging character there. And I couldn’t wait to see what the authors were going to do with his story.

We’ve had glimpses of Stan in the previous 3 stories. As the mother of a goalie, I can attest to the fact that they are all strange and unique. So, I totally got Stan talking to his pipes. I know that the pipes are a goalie’s best friend. And each time we met Stan, his broken English makes us laugh. I love Stan, he’s quirky and fun. He’s also stoic, yet caring, such a mix of contrasts.

At the beginning, I wasn’t sure I even liked Erik. He broke Stan’s heart, after all. But then we learn why. And as the story goes along, we start to like Erik. He thought he was doing the right thing, the best for everyone involved. After his decision, his heart was broken too. And then further on into the story, we love Erik. He’s so devoted to his son, Noah. Erik and Noah fulfill all of Stan’s dreams.

The rest of the gang from the other books show up here, and it’s nice to see them. Added to the mix here, are Stan’s sister, Galina and his mom. I love the side story with Galina and Arvy falling for each other. The one character I never warmed up to was Noah’s mother, Freja. And yet, at the end, she did the right thing for everyone.

As with all the previous stories in this series, it’s well written. With great characters. The hockey elements are spot on. The authors did a great job with how quirky and superstitious goalies can be. I can’t wait for the next book in this series.


View all my reviews

Review: Joshua's Rainbow

Joshua's Rainbow by Victoria Sue
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

What a beautiful story, of over coming the damage your past can do. To understanding that how we perceive ourselves, often isn’t the way the rest of the world sees us. Your heart breaks for everything that Joshua has gone through in his life. You want to coddle Daniel and make him relax, and to take care of his health. And you want to wrap the rest of the characters in this story in cotton and protect them from the evil in the world. Except Paul, who can’t have enough bad things happen to him!

Being at the top of your game comes at a cost. For Daniel, it’s his health. Sent by his best friend and doctor, Alan, he’s to rest and relax on a private island. Arriving there, he’s intrigued with Joshua. But he hasn’t gotten his executive brain shut off yet and all he sees is a property he wants for his company. But the more time he spends with Joshua and the gang, the more he sees the value of the people and not the place.

Joshua is hanging on to the hotel by his fingernails. He needs to save the place, to protect and give his motley crew a place to be safe. He doesn’t understand what Daniel sees in him. Every time he looks in the mirror, he still sees the fat and damaged kid that was thrown out of his house. Yet with Daniel’s gentle persuasion, he starts to see his own self-worth.

This story has it all. Wonderfully written characters and a great story line. You are pulled into the story and you don’t want to leave. You laugh, cry and hurt when the characters do. You feel their every emotion. I can’t wait to read more of this gang.


View all my reviews

Review: Omega Revealed

Omega Revealed by Tanya Chris
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A different take on the usual Omega and Alpha stories, one I haven’t read before. In most, the omegas want to be anything but omegas. Here Gage is a beta, who swears he’s an omega instead. And he longs for all things omega, to be submissive, to be under an alpha’s care, to nurture those around him. But no one around him takes his words seriously when he tells them. Except Ryker. Ryker listens and treats Gage as an omega. Then there is Gage’s sister, maybe a beta trapped in an omega body.

I found the story very well written, fast paced, steamy hot sex, great characters and I love the twist here. The subtle prodding that not everyone is who or what we perceive them to be. It made the story fascinating to read.


View all my reviews

Review: Dead Reckoning

Dead Reckoning by Pandora Pine
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Brilliant second story in this Cold Case Psychic series. This story is dark, with lots of mystery and intrigue. There is anxiety and fear as the guys work to solve the crimes in this story. And here again, the author has taken the relationship journey between Ronan and Tennyson on several twists and turns. And yet, you know that they are both committed to each other. You never doubt that they love each other.

When we last saw Ronan and Tennyson, life was good. They had solved the crime and where working building on their relationship. The story here opens with a hiccup in the relationship. But Tennyson needs Ronan’s help after a murder victim shows up in his bedroom. As the two of them put aside their personal relationship, they work together, along with the others in their ‘family’ to solve the murders of not only the victim that visited Ten, but a series of other related murders.

The bonus in this storyline is the building of Captain Fitzgibbon’s character. Loved him in the first book, even more here. And everyone you met in the first book is back here.

For me, this story is not a stand-alone. To understand the characters and the relationships between them all, you need to read book one. And book one is so worth the read, you want to read it anyway.

I can’t say how much I have loved the first two stories in this series. Pandora Pine is an incredible author and now one of my favorites. She writes great characters. Intricate and complex plot lines, full of everything you want in a murder mystery. Can’t wait for the next story.


View all my reviews

Review: Bound to the Omega

Bound to the Omega by Ashe Moon
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Shifters in this story live in a different world than most shifter stories. But the world created here is easy to imagine. This is a second chance at love story, set sixteen years after Arthur and Perry have been pulled apart by the forced marriage of Perry. Perry has left his husband and come home with his daughter. He never expected to see Arthur again, but they run into each other, both realizing that they still had feelings for the other.

The author did a great job with the describing the world here. You could hear the roar of the wolf cycles, feel the rain coming down. Everything is easily pictured. I loved how Arthur’s family stuck together, folding Perry into the mix.

This is book four in the series, but I haven’t read the others, so this does work as a stand-alone story.


View all my reviews

Review: His Professor Omega

His Professor Omega by Harper B. Cole
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A well written and enjoyable story. Sort of a second chance, because the main characters come back together and build their relationship after a one-night stand. That one-night stand had lasting consequences for the omega of the pairing. The path to true love is never easy, but it was satisfying to watch Ash and Coop work through everything thrown in their way.

As characters, loved how Ash and Coop were written. The age difference is alluded to, but it’s not the main focus here. There were a couple of occasions were things felt like they were skimmed over, and I would have liked the authors to give us more information about what the final outcomes were. Otherwise, I really liked this story.


View all my reviews