3:120 Portents by Kelley Armstrong

 A collection of several short stories and novellas set in the Cainsville universe. Most have been published before but are now gathered in one place.  I enjoyed dipping back into the universe even if I had read many of them before. 

"Scream of Dragons" was originally published in Subterranean Press Magazine. I hadn't read it before and it was seriously creepy. It takes place when Rose is a teen and Seanna is a toddler and shows what can go wrong when the fae blood mixes badly and the child is taken away from Cainsville.

I know I've read "Devil May Care" before but can't remember if it was an extra at the back of a book or something else. It is the story of how Patrick and Seanna got together just long enough to produce Gabriel. Shows just how broken Seanna always was and doesn't do Patrick any favors either.

"Gabriel's Gargoyles" shows Gabriel about 10 years old already having figured out how to navigate his mother and ready to con and pickpocket and it's heartbreaking to see how broken he is because of Seanna.

"The Black Cat" is Gabriel's take on Poe's "The Orange Cat" and "Bad Publicity" is a Patrick prequel that again doesn't show him in the best light. Both were originally preorders for Betrayals.

"Matagot" is a new story and reveals more about TC's true nature and what happened during his kidnapping in Visions. It was interesting as it also reveals more about the start of the Matilda, Gwyn, and Arwen legends.

"Lady of the Lake" was another Betrayals preorder bonus but I don't remember having read it before. It takes place during Olivia and Ricky's vacation when they find a haunted lake.

I do hope that Ms. Armstrong continues to play in this universe from time to time as I do enjoy getting to go back with new stories.

Page count: 320p/715p ytd/348,096p lifetime

12:100 Souljacker by Yasmine Galenorn

Lily O'Connell is a succubus and hey, a girl's gotta eat, so she has an elite sex salon where she can do so without harming her clientele who are generally Weres and can spare the chi she needs.  It's a safe enough business venture until one night as she is getting ready to attend a client, that client is murdered in her room by a vampire and a strip of skin removed.  After a second vampire victim is found elsewhere, also with a strip of skin missing, the pattern becomes clear that it's the Souljacker, a vampire who was a tattoo artist before he was turned.  He is hunting down his previous clients and removing the tattoos that the drew from their souls and inked on their skin.  Lily has one as do several of her friends and they need to find and stop the Souljacker before he comes after them.

I generally love Ms. Galenorn's books and I was intrigued by this one but it just fell flat to me.  The characters did not leap off the page, the romance was lacking any real heat (despite the sparks that kept being mentioned), there was too much being crammed in trying to set up a series that it just didn't work for it to all be happening over the course of a couple of days, and Lily herself kept doing stupid ass shit that made no sense just so it would set her up for the next thing.  It was just didn't work.  This series was not picked up so no more will happen for a while and I can't say that I'm saddened by that.



Page count: 264p/3,124p ytd/314,029p lifetime

3:100 Casting Curses by Yasmine Galenorn

Book 5 in the Bewitching Bedlam series.  When a tree crashes into Maddy's B&B, a previously unknown space in the attic is opened up but when they start poking around a malevolent spirit is let lose in her house.  Now everyone involved is under a curse: Maddy can't perform magic, Franny has been chased into a mirror, Aegis can't control his predator, and one of the werewolves doing the repair has died.  Maddy has been calling in favors all over town to figure out what they are dealing with and how to fix it but the last thing she expected to find out was that she was going to have to go asking favors of Ereshkigal, the goddess of the Underworld, without her magic to back her up.

Another fun romp with Maddy and her friends.  These are a nice, light, fluffy read and I'm bummed that Maddy is taking a break right now.  Ms. Galenorn has said she'll be back, probably next year, but when everything has been crazy these have been a lovely diversion.

Page count: 285p/781p ytd/311,686p lifetime

78:100 Witches Wild by Yasmine Galenorn

Maddie, Sandy, and Fata Morgana roamed the countryside for decades indulging their whims and destroying vampires.  Then the inevitable falling out and Fata returning to the arms of the ocean.  Now Fata has returned to join up with Maddie and Sandy again with warnings from the waves but her moods shift like the tides and her moods are ever changing as the sea. Maddie and Sandy must learn how to sail them again if they hope to survive not just the latest threat that Fata brings warnings of but Fata herself.

Really enjoying this series and I liked the focus on this one, less on the big bad they need to deal with and more on the conflicted feelings of Fata. 


Page count: 342p/14,040p ytd/306,056p lifetime

75:100 Siren's Song by Yasmine Galenorn

The third book in the Bewitching Bedlam series.  Sandy, Maddie's best friend, is almost run down at the grocery store. And by almost run down, I mean they tried to hit her with the car several times.  Definitely no accident.  Then her new restaurant is torched just before it opens.  Now she is in a coma and her dreams are coming to life and considering the kind of life she has led and how long it is, there are things of nightmare in her mind that the town is not prepared to try and deal with.  Sandy's boyfriend, the weretiger Max, is beside himself and together with Maddie and Aegis, they are tearing the town apart trying to discover who is attacking her and stop them no matter the cost.

I'm really enjoying this series and the characters and I hope to see much more of them.


Page count: 338p/13,652p ytd/305,668p lifetime

66:100 The Wish Factor by Yasmine Galenorn

Prequel to the Bewitching Bedlam series, this is Bubba's origin story. 

Cjinn are born without knowing their name and without their magic.  As they grow, their magic does and when it is strong enough and they have control of it, they find their name.  This has yet to happen to Younger Son and he is the only one of his litter still without his name.  His mother tells him to have patience but it's so hard and now father has said they are to move to a new world.  When that happens though, what will happen to Younger Son if he does not have enough magic to know his name?

A cute little story that gives not just Bubba's origins but also more about cjinn themselves. 



Page count: 25p/11,438p ytd/303,456p lifetime

118:120 Tiger Tails by Yasmine Galenorn

Sandy and Maddie have been friends for centuries but it's just her luck that when she really needs help, Maddie is out of town and in her own trouble. Sandy is looking after a friend's daughter who is at the local supe boarding school and they have gone on a hiking field trip when she gets the call that would stop any parent's heart, her ward is missing up in the woods, it's almost dark and a strong snowstorm is blowing in with possible supernatural forces in play.  Sandy is no slouch and she will do whatever it takes to get her ward back safely but she is not alone when she takes the call and when Max, the weretiger, hears that there is a child in trouble he is not about to sit on the sidelines.  It gives them both a much better look at what the other is made of and it is more than respect that grows out in the cold.

I was curious where Max had come from when I read Maudlin's Mayhem.  The list I had looked at said to read Blood Vengeance and this one after but really it makes a lot more sense if you read them before.  I still want to know so much more about Sandy and this was a nice way to see a bit of what she is like away from Maddie.  I hope we get more stories about her.


Page count: 52p/22,042p ytd/292,445p lifetime

117:120 Blood Vengeance by Yasmine Galenorn

Aegis and his band have been invited to play at a mountain chalet and Maddy comes along so they can have a mini-vacation after the craziness of opening the Bedlam B&B. However, it's not long before strange things start happening. First, a message arrives asking Aegis to meet someone downstairs. Then an avalanche buries much of the resort and Aegis is still missing. Once they can find him, maybe they can start figuring out who is behind all this but they definitely won't like the answers as both Maddy and Aegis have made many enemies in their long lives.

Some interesting back story to both of our main characters as well as setting things up for what seems like it is likely to be a long story arc. 


Page count: 51p/21,990p ytd/292,393p lifetime

113:120 Maudlin's Mayhem by Yasmine Galenorn

The 2nd book in the Bewitching Bedlam series.

Strange things keep happening around Maddy lately. First, she has been clumsy and getting hurt in ways that are just not normal for her including bumping into a strange woman who ends up needing a place to stay for herself and her friends. It's not until Snow White and her 7 Dwarfs show up at the B&B that Maddy realizes who she has opened her Inn to. Then Bubba, her cjinn, turns up in a human form and Aegis is turned into his bat form and unable to change back. Maddy is now convinced that this is more than just strange occurrences and something really is up and it comes as no surprise to find out that she has been hexed.  Now she must figure out who has put the hex on her and how to get it off before anything worse happens.

I'm enjoying this series and I like the fact that there are generally red herrings and lots of twists and turns in the stories but that the real solution was visible and not just something thrown in at the last second that was never shown before (hate that!). Now to read the two tie-in short stories which I'm hoping will answer some of the questions I had reading this about what happened during their vacation. I read the order guide and it said to read them after this one but I definitely felt like I was missing some crucial information so maybe reading Blood Vengeance before this would have been better.


Page count: 307p/20,470p ytd/291,873p lifetime

82:120 Bewitching Bedlam by Yasmine Galenorn

The first full novel in the Bewitching Bedlam series.  Maddie is working hard to get her B&B ready to open for business as she is also getting accustomed to her new life in Bedlam and her hot new vampire boyfriend, Aegis.  Unfortunately there are those that aren't so keen to see her succeed, the worst of which is Aegis's ex-girlfriend who can't stand the fact that he left her and moved on with his life. Then there is the owner of the other major B&B in town, Ralph Greyhoof.  The question is, who is behind the dead body found in her yard?

I have enjoyed all of Ms. Galenorn's work and this was no exception.  Her characters are lively and entertaining and believable. They have personal history, make mistakes, and sometimes have to learn the hardway.  I'm really looking forward to reading more in this series. I definitely think that going independent has been a very freeing move for Ms. Galenorn and while there are series I will miss her not being able to add to for a while, her new series seem like they will be very fun to follow.


Page count: 324p/17,045p ytd/288,177p lifetime

35:120 Moon Shimmers by Yasmine Galenorn

Otherworld book 19 told by Camille.  Times they are changing. The summer solstice is almost upon them and that is when Camille will be leaving the home she has shared with her sisters since they came Earthside to become the Faerie Queen of Dusk and Twilight but before she can do that, she must find the Keraastar Diamond and fulfill her destiny to take control of the Keraastar Knights who will guard the Seals. However, the Diamond is well hidden and guarded in Otherworld so she will need her friends and loved ones to help her on this great task.  Having them with her means more than ever this time as she struggles internally against her fate knowing that she will do it but dreading the massive changes about to take place.

So there are only two more books left in the series at this point according to the author and it's easy to see that things are on the fast track to wrapping up now. Whereas earlier books would spend the entire book on one minor plot point that sometimes didn't even really figure much into the larger story arc, this one had several wrapping up in the space of less than 400 pages.  It was super fast paced although compared to earlier battles and adventures, these almost seemed over too quickly and super easy for the characters to get through which doesn't make a lot of sense if we are seeing end-game coming.  I like the fast pace and I love the world building but it just seemed at odds with previous books and so stuck out to me.  I'm thankful that the world of self-publishing is allowing Ms. Galenorn to complete the series since the publisher decided not to. It would have been a horrendous shame not to see this massive undertaking through to the end.  I'm now saddened that I have to wait another year for the next installment since she has a few other series she is kicking off right now but oh well, I guess I'll just have to check out all those series. :)

Page count: 342p/6,891p ytd/281,366p lifetime

2:120 One Fell Sweep by Ilona Andrews

Dina has received a message that her sister is in trouble and without hesitation she goes to help.  Now besides Caledonia, her only permanent guest, and her chef, she now has her sister and her daughter staying at the Inn and Arland, the vampire whose help she requested, is also staying there and Sean is now hanging around more and more.  Gertrude Hunt, Dina's Inn, is feeling better with more people there but now a guest has come that brings with him danger unlike anything Dina and Gertrude Hunt have ever had to deal with.  It is one of the Hiru, a repulsive smelling being covered in metal armor of some sort.  Their race has been hunted almost to extinction by the Draziri and now there are but a handful left but that handful has saved up enough to find the answer to why the Draziri have done this but they need the sanctuary of Dina and her Inn to do so.  This is quite the tall order, even bigger than the peace conference they hosted but if she can bring them all through it alive, she may get the answer to her biggest question as well: "What happened to her parents?"  It's an answer that is worth the price.



Page count: 257p/347p ytd/275,822p lifetime

108:120 Blood Magic by Yasmine Galenorn

The set-up to a new series by Yasmine Galenorn.  Maddy has been in a funk since the divorce (before that even) but now her friend Sandy has convinced her to buy a mansion in Bedlam and start a new life.  However, after moving she goes exploring in the house and finds a vampire has a lair in the basement.  This is no ordinary vampire though and she is no ordinary witch so maybe the two of them can have something more special than anyone can imagine.

An interesting set-up to a new series.  Looks interesting and the first book is apparently due out in January so I'll be giving it a go.  Ms. Galenorn's work generally keeps me interested and entertained nicely and with two new series starting up next year, I'm hoping to have lots of things to smile about in the publishing world.


Page count: 53p/26,218p ytd/275,375p lifetime

65:120 Flight from Mayhem by Yasmine Galenorn

The 2nd book in the Fly by Night series by Yasmine Galenorn.  Shimmer and Alex are exploring their relationship but that is made more complicated by his ex, Glenda, stirring up trouble everywhere she can.  Then there is the haunted house across the street from her that is calling to her.  But what is really on everyone's mind is the murder of several elderly local fae.  With suspicions mounting that they are dealing with a doppleganger of some sort, Betty volunteers to put herself up as a bait and then everything goes wrong...

I felt that this book flowed better than the first and while the sex scenes felt less forced, I still rolled my eyes at some of the placements (in the office with a client waiting...really?!).  I get that it's paranormal romance but I also feel that it should enhance and serve the story and not be thrown in haphazardly and there were definitely a time or two that I felt that was the case.  In the good, there was more character growth and learning backstories which I always want more of.  I'm looking forward to the next book and hope to see more of that.


Page count: 321p/17,948p ytd/267,908p lifetime

12:120 Darkness Raging by Yasmine Galenorn

Otherworld book #18, told by Menolly.  Things are changing and changing fast for the sisters and their friends.  Camille has been told that she must take her place with the faerie queens soon and Delilah is moving up her wedding with Chase.  Now Blood Wyne has decided that it is needed for Menolly to become more than just the official consort of her son Roman, she and Nerissa are to become his wives.  And that is just the personal side of things.

On the war front, things are heating up.  Camille has called in her favor with the dragons to help against Telazhar in Otherworld and his reign of terror is finally at an end.  Unfortunately, Shadow Wing is still out there and taking advantage of the portals popping up everywhere to send his allies over to wreck havoc here on Earth.  After taking out Telazhar, the sisters are now in his sights so he does what any self-respecting villain does and snatches Nerissa and will exchange her for the 4 spirit seals that the sisters have found so far.  That would give him 8 with only one still to be found before the separation of the worlds can be undone.  Menolly knows she can't risk everyone and everything to save her wife but there is no way she can just sit by either...

After a big lull in the major plot of the series, things are coming to a head rapidly. This book moved super fast and I found it almost crazy how much was dealt with.  It was good and I enjoyed it but it was almost too much, too fast.  It left me with a sense of reader's whiplash.  LOL


Page count: 306p/3,747p ytd/254,042p lifetime

121:120 Autumn Thorns by Yasmine Galenorn

The first in a new paranormal romance series by Yasmine Galenorn.

Whisper Hollow is a special town where the line between the living and the dead is thin.  As a result, there has always been a daughter of the Morrigan there as a spirit shaman to help lay the dead to rest.  Kerris grew up knowing that with her mother missing, when her grandmother died it would be up to her to take up that mantle but that did not keep her from leaving when she was 18 to escape her grandfather.  Now, 15 years later, she has received the signs and knew ever before the phone rang that her grandmother was gone and she needed to return home to take her place but she is determined to do things her way and that means not only laying the dead to rest but also finding out what happened to her mother and father.  What she couldn't know was just what she would unbury and what it means, not just for her, but for the whole town and maybe beyond...

I had my doubts about this when Ms. Galenorn first started talking about but the more I saw with the teases and snippets, the more intrigued I became until I finally broke down and preordered it.  I admit to being a wee bit drawn to anything with Celtic mythology overtones so it wasn't a hard sell once I saw the Morrigan's name popping up.  It was a fairly fast read, long exposition was mostly kept to a minimum allowing things to unfold and be told in a more natural way which I tend to prefer.  The story moved well and the characters believable.  We had a few things get wrapped up nicely but there are many more questions left to answer.  I look forward to those adventures.


Page count: 314p/31,162p ytd/246,078p lifetime

105:120 Autumn Moon by Jan DeLima

The 3rd book in the Celtic Wolves series.  Cormac has lived for centuries in the body of the wolf even though his mind was that of a man.  The only person who ever treated him as a man was Elen, the sister of Dylan, and herself an outcast because she has powers no one else in her clan can understand but yet with all that power, she cannot call the wolf shape to herself.  She has used her powers to heal but one night, she learned that she has more power than she ever imagined when she ripped the power of transformation from the Guardian attacking her and her family and sent that power flooding into Cormac.  Now Cormac can shift between shapes but he is still lost as he tries to figure out the rules of being human and how to court the woman who captured his heart centuries ago with her kindness.  Elen is amazed at what her power has wrought but is afraid that Cormac will hate and fear her as everyone else has done now that it's revealed she has this power.  That thought scares her more than any other because he has been her only friend and companion for so long and now that he is a man, she finds herself wanting to take their relationship so much further.  Unfortunately, things are not always up to us to play out as we want as Pendaran, the leader of the Guardians, is very much interesting in the power that Elen wields and will do anything to possess it.

Ok, yes, this book is a romance even if you dress it up with Celtic mythology and wolves.  I'm not generally huge on straight romance books but this one is continuing to keep me hooked mostly because the women are strong and equal to the men but also because they don't drop out once they get mated (*cough cough* BDB *cough cough*).  Sophie is still there, fighting alongside Dylan and not being sheltered.  Rosa makes a brief appearance since the majority of the story is not her territory but she is involved in a few key scenes and not just a "makes token appearance to welcome them to her home" kind of thing.  The main story is continuing to be moved forward while the romance angle is served and even when captured and in a place where most of her magic doesn't work and she does need rescuing (yeah, okay, that bugged me a bit), she uses what magic she can to let Cormac know where to find her and once rescued uses her magic to cripple Pendaran so Cormac has a chance to take him out.

So is this great literature?  No.  The plots are pretty transparent and you know that they will end with a HEA for the lead couple but the world is rich and the characters interesting and the whole thing is not just a "guy sees girl and decides she is the one for him so must get" which bugs the complete crap out of me so I will continue to read until it turns into that or the series ends.


Page count: 304p/28,100p ytd/243,016p lifetime

82:120 Flight from Death by Yasmine Galenorn

Set in the world of Yasmine Galenorn's Sisters of the Otherworld series but mostly separate from it.  Shimmer is an orphan blue dragon from the Dragon Reaches. Without a family name, she is the lowest of the low in that society and this time she has ticked off the wrong people.  Rather than sentence her to death, the Wing Liege has sentenced her to 5 years banishment to Earthside under the care of the vampire, Alex, who runs a detective agency in Seattle.  So far, it's been a bit lonely but Shimmer is starting to get a handle on things when an old friend of Alex's calls them with a case.  Peter, another vampire, is trying to start up a B&B for supes in the Port Townsend but the building appears to be haunted and he is asking for Alex's help.  Alex agrees and takes along his team of Shimmer and Ralph, a werewolf who faints at the sight of blood when in human form.  When they arrive at the B&B, they are immediately greeted with items flying at them, some with deadly intent, and a ghostly voice telling them to get out.  As they start poking around, they find that not only is the house haunted and under a curse but there is something even more sinister that seems to have taken up residence, not only in their house but elsewhere in the town as well.  This will be the biggest case Shimmer has ever been on, if she can survive it.

This is the start of a new series and it's ok for a first book.  I generally love Ms. Galenorn's writing and in terms of the characters and plot, this one was no exception.  My big issue is the budding romance between Alex and Shimmer.  I didn't feel any real chemistry there apart from one scene and it just generally felt shoe-horned in and not like it really belonged.  Other than that, an enjoyable read.


Page count: 320p/21,222p ytd/236,156p lifetime

56:120 Burn for Me by Ilona Andrews

The first in the Hidden Legacy series by Ilona Andrews.  The world invented a serum to stimulate latent magical abilities years ago and now humans are divided by magical strength and ability.  In that scale, Nevada Baylor has listed herself as a null to hide the truth that she is actually a human lie-detector, a rare ability, and a fairly powerful one at that.  She has a small detective business that supports her family since her father's death but the crippling medical bills meant that she had to mortgage the business to a powerful family who is now calling her in to track down a Prime, the highest level of magic user, who is capable of setting anyone and anything on fire.

In her quest to try and gently bring in her quarry, she attracts the attention of "Mad" Rogan, another powerful Prime, who is searching for an accomplice of her target and will stop at nothing to find him.  He gives her no choice but to work with him but the plan backfires as she manages to find vulnerabilities he didn't even know he had anymore.  Now not only is he dealing with this case and trying to save the world, he is trying to figure out the way into her heart as well.  As for Nevada, she is trying to decide whether to run from her attraction or give in.  Neither seems like a safe choice.

So this is published by Avon Romance as a paranormal romance, something I don't tend to seek out but since I love Ilona Andrews and actually enjoyed her last foray into the genre with the Edge series of course I grabbed this one.  I was not disappointed.  The world is well constructed, the characters engaging (although I could have done with a little less of Nevada's constant self-doubting internal monologue), and the plot, while being fairly a fairly typical and straight-forward one, managed to keep my interest due to the characters and world although I will admit, the cover makes me cringe in a big way.  I'm interested to see where they go with this in the next one.  I know it's been postponed but when it comes out, I'll definitely be picking up my copy.


Page Count: 382p/14,649p ytd/229,583p lifetime

45:120 Summer Moon by Jan DeLima

Rosa is the youngest unmated, full-blooded changeling and as such was married off to the Guardian Math centuries ago when the Guardians wanted Math to move to the New World and keep watch over the Walkers.  Now Math has been killed by Dylan and the Guardians remember a prophecy spoken by Talesin which basically amounts to the rape of Rosa by 8 unmateed Guardians on Beltane.  Rosa wants NO part of this plan, especially after spending centuries under Math's thumb and seeing just how horrible the Guardians treat those she cares about.  She runs to Dylan's pack to try and enlist their aid by offering the most valuable prize she has, control over her lands at Alban and herself as wife, to keep her and hers safe.

Luc is Dylan's brother, unmated although widowed by his beloved Koko.  He is an alpha in his own right but has stayed by his brother's side with unwavering support for all his brother has done for him over the centuries and his brother's vision for their pack but his wolf is restless so when the chance to help his brother comes in the form of wedding Rosa and claiming her territory next door to his brother's, he quickly volunteers.  Neither Rosa nor Luc are looking for anything beyond a marriage of convenience but they quickly find much to respect and admire in the other and find more than either was looking for.

I'm not a huge fan of outright romances and even less so of series that promise a rich world with intricate, overreaching plots that then turn into books of how can we throw two people together as a romance despite their having zero in common or any reason why they should actually be a couple outside of the fact that the author chose to make them one (BDB is especially horrible for this but there are plenty out there).  When I realize that the second book in the series centered on a new couple coming together, I groaned.  The first book was great in that it was a couple that had parted and were coming together (rarely every done) but now we were going back to a standard trope.  I really enjoyed the new world Ms. DeLima had created so I decided to hope and I was not disappointed.  Luc and Rosa found things in common, they were thrust together out of need but came to a mutual respect and understanding.  Yes, there was always sexual tension going on because it's a "paranormal romance" but it wasn't a chest thumping, bodice ripper type of thing.  It's easy enough to guess who the next couple will be but again, it seems like a case of a couple who have been dancing around each other wanting this relationship who will finally get a chance not a "guy sees girl across the street and decides she's the one for him".  I'm actually looking forward to the next installment with anticipation.

Page count: 292p/9,828p ytd/224,762p lifetime