nikkisbooknook's reviews
4946 reviews

 Bree, Matt, Todd and the rest of the Greys Hollow police department find themselves smack bang in the middle of another homicide case.  A double homicide in fact, with the bodies discovered by the couple's daughter!

There are so many potential suspects and motivations for these deaths: bad neighbours, financial impropriety, and worst of all potential child abduction. Poor Claire, her world is tipped upside down at the loss of her parents, then she learns that she has lost her sense of self too.

I have a girl crush on Bree, I'll admit.  She is tough, loyal, confident, brave, loving and refuses to let herself be ruled by the hang-ups she has.  She faces her fears head on and is determined to overcome them all.  Matt is the perfect partner for Bree, at work or at home.  He takes partnership seriously, he injects fun into their life, he gives her a safe harbour and lets her set the pace for the progression of their relationship.  He also gets a kick out of watching her take down the odd misogynistic suspect too!

The dogs are always going to steal every scene they're in and Brody and Ladybug are still cute step-brothers but Vader is still giving poor Matt the stink-eye!

The romance may be off the page but you see Matt and Bree have adult conversations and playtime without it being explicit so these books are perfect for teenagers who love a thriller.

I really enjoyed seeing scenes from Claire's POV and just how all over the place and how confused she was, it really pulled you into her story.  I hope this series continues for a long time because I am invested in all these characters! 

 

Shorter length, spice free (only a bit of kissing seen) fantasy romance. 

Alessia is like a character in her own life.  She seems to have zero input in anything she does - her one small rebellion was being a family doctor rather than a fancy surgeon like her dad.  She doesn't even seem to like her fiancé, never mind being excited to marry him!  So when a dashing stranger storms into her wedding and saves her from marrying the egotistical jerk, she gladly runs off with him.

However, finding herself on a hidden magical isle in the middle of the Great Lakes was unexpected to say the least.  This island has a plague besieging its inhabitants and they are in dire need of a doctor to help them.  But what they really need is a Queen.

Silas and Alessia were a great match.  He, the enigmatic hero and her the runaway bride, doctor and, it would appear, late blooming magic wielder! Silas is kind and daring, a lover of his people and righter of wrongs.  He's also a bit of a feminist and is big on making sure that Alessia knows her word is his order, he's really big on consent! 

The secondary characters are fun, friendly and charming - I especially loved Mollie and Ranger X.  I'd really love to see more of them in future books, they were a bit like NPC's - they didn't have a whole lot to do with the story really. I would have liked to have gone a bit more in-depth on worldbuilding but this series does interconnect with another set in the same world so reading those may fill in some of the gaps for me.

I would have liked to have seen a few flaws in our MC's.  Alessia is all a bit perfect and polished for me and Silas needed an annoying habit or something to dirty up the perfect! I just wanted them both to work a wee bit harder for the respect and adoration they were afforded. 

 

Nathan always knew that Haven was a forever kind of girl and he didn't feel that he could give her that.  But after saving her from a horrific situation he puts even more distance between them, causing Haven to think he is repulsed by not only her but by her trauma.

Fast forward a few years and Nathan is enjoying ranch life with his family.  He makes every effort to not think about Haven but she still continues to haunt his thoughts. Haven has made a success of her doggie business and she's trying to put those strong feelings for Nathan in the past, even dating a guy of two in the in-between has never quite managed to erase what was almost the perfect night.

I do like a bit of mutual pining and even as he stoutly denies it to all and sundry, everyone else can see he's mad about Haven.  Haven is such an emotionally strong character - she refuses to let her past define her, determined to make a life she'll be proud of.  She does hate to take a "handout" though so I loved the way Nathan gets creative to help out his "enemy".

The little green-eyed devil jealousy really takes root in Nathan and it manages to spur the story along nicely. I loved the layer of suspense that ties everything together so well.  The epilogue was a great way of seeing the characters from the series in the future, how they have grown, aged and meshed their lives together. 

 

Think Hepburn and Stacey, or any worthy bickering, star-crossed lovers and that's pretty much Emily and Jack.  College rivals, work rivals, and now neighbours. 

Emily is the fix-it girl in her family.  She may not be the eldest but she is definitely the mother hen. Super organised, plain speaking (at least in her head 98% of the time!) and then there is Jack, nifty dressing, people charmer, all around nice guy - to everyone but Emily!

I teared up in laughter more than once with this pair.  Everyone, and I do mean everyone in Rome, can see that these two should be together.  They are like the same person in different fonts! But I think they both needed to grow a little, get a little perspective before they could put aside their verbal sparring and just "see" each other for the first time.

I loved the way that seeking and needing help are not seen as flaws, it is held up as a sign of being an adult and being self aware.  Emily's need to be everything to everyone and always be needed so that people won't leave her.  Jack's need to please everyone, to hide his career from his narcissistic father, to escape his verbal and physical assaults, the need to try and save his mother.  These are flawed characters and they are beautifully chipped, no glossy façade of perfection - just a functioning mess if we're honest lol. The banter and the emails between Emily and Jack from the beginning of their relationship to the present day are a hoot and I could hear the voices in my head and hear the thumping of the keyboard as they wrote back and forth, sometimes in anger, sometimes working together in spite of their rivalry. Their shared love of books and how they keep them sane really tied them together and just made them a great pairing.

This isn't a super spicy romance, there are only one or two smexy scenes but there is nothing over the top if that's not your thing. 

The secondary characters are mostly couples from previous books and various townsfolk, all of whom seem to survive on gossip! One of my fave scenes is at the end of the book and it's not even about Emily and Jack, and I love that the author can still tell their story whilst giving some love to previous characters. 

 A brand new alien romance series to sink my claws into!

The Drakarn warriors are actual dragon men, not shifters as such so they have the claws, the wings...and the tails!  Oh and that tail can cause a lot of moisture for his mate!

Terra is the perfect partner to him - she is stubborn, fearless, loyal and not above omitting a thing or two to keep her crew safe.

These two really are like dynamite and matches.  The chemistry is humungous and the more they stick together, the more intense it becomes. The fact that he sets Terra up with warrior lessons tells you all you need to know about how not only possessive but protective this MMC is.  Oh and the fact that she's the only one who stops him from killing a fellow warrior when he tries to take what isn't his!

Fab start to this new series and a proper alien MMC who is more than just a humanesque alien, he really is "other" and that tail - ooh la la!  I can't wait to see what fate has in store for Rath and to see what more we can learn about Terra and her fellow crewmates! 

 I missed the first book in this series but it in now way hampered me from enjoying this dip into vigilante justice!

There is a cold case of murder to solve when The Twelve come to the conclusion that the person who was to receive "justice" may just be an innocent party! There are plenty of twists and turns throughout the book and I loved learning all the characters' idiosyncrasies.

The broad range of talents and abilities make the team really versatile and the tacit approval of the Met lends another layer to the story.  These sexagenarians, septuagenarians and octogenarians really get about and I wish I had half their energy! They really have seized the day in their later years with love blossoming all around and in some intricate couplings (they even have a thrupple) - they are so current and quirky.

The story deals with some strong themes - racism, sexism, misogyny, sexual assault and they are handled so thoughtfully.  I've decided I'd quite like to be Monica when I grow up! 

 Riley and Tyler should have been the couple but kissing him felt like kissing a relative! But things go from bad to worse when they are attacked by a mountain lion!  Seeing Tyler literally change before her eyes leaves her stunned but she has now become a headache for the pack!

Cody is sent to take her into custody and get her to a memory wiper.  But one sniff and he realises that this young woman is his mate!

Now we've got age gap, fated mates, abduction, ex's dad, all grown-up situation.  There is a major dose of Primal K!nk too!  Reformed player with the good girl? Yes, please!  Add in a heaped dollop of protective dad and I was sold.  There was also a suspense element to the story that really helped to move along the action and allow our star-crossed lovers to get their HEA.

Riley may be naïve and younger but she has a great grasp of life and she is wise beyond her years.  Cody is a nice guy under all that playboy and everything got wrapped up neatly at the conclusion. Cody really was the perfect partner for her and I loved that he wanted her to have a life separate from him but they managed to combine their lives really well. 

 

Former MI-5 and now archaeological and historical relic guardian, Joe and the gang are back in fine form.  They're up against a team of Satanists, who long for the downfall of civilisation as we know it.  The influential bankers, politicians and so on who make up their ranks can make life difficult for a lot of people and interfere in the team's investigation.  That is if they don't get dead in the meantime!

Joe, Sally and the rest of the team are the best found family group of colleagues.  They know each other's strengths and weaknesses and how much pressure they can survive. Moloch is a completely reprehensible villain and one that has no redemption arc thankfully!

The action whips across the UK, including here in Scotland, and mainland Europe at a breakneck speed.  I loved trying to untangle the web of lies, deceit and conspiracies to get to the truth.  There is a bit of a cliffhanger so now wait for book #7! 

 

Alisa has grown up hating the man who fathered her.  He abandoned her mother, found his fated mate and went on to have another family.  Now her mother is gone and Alisa can't decide if she wants to know her father or not.

Declan, playboy dragon shifter, best friend of Gideon and loyal employee of Arache Jewellery.  He is rocked to the core when he realises that Alisa is the sister of his bestie.  Can he reconcile the siblings or the parent-daughter bond? 

I love the whole premise of the female mating call and the males who turn up to "assist". Those Ember Witches have been meddling again and we soon find out they have caused untold heartache and the hate goes back for generations.

There were a couple of twists when we learned of what instigated the Ember Witches hatred of golden dragons.  Ailsa also got in the way of her HEA and I really wanted to strangle her at times, lol. I thought the scenes with Duncan were some of the most emotionally raw and I really wanted to give her a cuddle and tell her everything would be ok.

There were some darker themes discussed throughout the book so that made the HEA that bit more hard-won and I really loved getting to know Alisa.  Declan was actually a really sweet guy under all that playboy! And his parents were awesome.

Looking forward to book #3!