I am totally playing catchup this month, so you get Spooky Season Books in between all my Christmas content. Welcome to my mind.
Mate by Ali Hazelwood
Goodreads blurb: A Human hybrid and an Alpha Were claw against the bonds of fate in the highly anticipated companion novel to the New York Times bestselling Bride.
Serena Paris is orphaned, pack-less, and one of a kind. Coming forward as the first Human-Were hybrid was supposed to heal a centuries-long rift between species. Instead, it made her a target, prey to the ruthless political machinations between Weres, Vampyres, and Humans. With her enemies closing in on her, she has only one option left—if he’ll have her.
As Alpha of the Northwest pack, Koen Alexander commands obedience. His authority is so absolute, only a fool would threaten his mate. It doesn’t matter if Serena doesn’t reciprocate his feelings, nothing will stop him from keeping her safe.
But power-hungry Vampyres and Weres are not the only threats chasing Serena. Sooner or later, her past is bound to catch up with her—and Koen might be the only thing standing between her and total annihilation…
My take: 3.5 out of 5 I was a fan of the banter, because really Ali Hazewood does know how to write a love story. However, I was mildly turned off by some of the science. We are basically generating the anatomy and the medicine of a whole species and it was a lot. Also i figured out what was happening to Serena way before they actually told us so my surprise was quite reduced. If you liked Bride, definitely read, as you will like the continuation of the story. If you thought Bride was a lot, this is even more so maybe stay away.
Soul Searching by Lyla Sage
Goodreads blurb: Home is where the heart is—and this one is haunted.
The #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Rebel Blue Ranch series returns with a brand-new story, featuring a small-town upholsterer in need of a fresh start, a photographer whose life has come to a screeching halt . . . and the supernatural forces that bring them together.
Collins Cartwright does not want to go home. Sweetwater Peak, Wyoming, was supposed to be in her rearview mirror, but when she finds out a developer is trying to buy her parents’ antique shop out from under them, she doesn’t have a choice—at least, that’s what she tells her family. They don’t need to know she’s lost her job and is out of money. Or that the ghosts that have always been her companions have recently gone silent.
But just because she’s returned home doesn’t mean she has to stay with her parents or crash on her twin sister’s couch. Lucky for her, the new-to-town upholsterer has a room for rent above his store. Unluckily, it is absolutely crawling with more ghosts who are freezing her out. And Collins hates being ignored.
Brady Cooper is absolutely and totally fine. Seriously, there’s no secret reason why he decided to uproot his life and suddenly move to Sweetwater Peak. He just needed a change of pace. At least, that’s what he tells himself. And everyone else.
When he agrees to let the elusive Collins Cartwright stay in his spare room, he doesn’t know that she’s absolutely bonkers—constantly talking to herself and having conversations with no one—or that she looked like that. But as they begin to get closer, the lines between them start to blur, leaving both of them—and the ghosts that have been pushing them together—wondering whether or not their temporary arrangement could be something more permanent.
My take: 3.25 My favorite cowboy author of the REbel Blue Ranch series, went spooky with this book, that will also apparently be a series. It is cool and totally strange at the same time. Like I was digging the mystery setting, but get comfortable with a lot of ghost conversations. I did however really enjoyed the relationships and its a solid Spooky season book but you don’t need to rush to read it.
Tourist Season by Brynne Weaver
Goodreads blurb: Welcome to Cape Carnage! Visit Once, Stay Forever.
Cape Carnage is a seaside town of colorful houses, quirky shops, and an unusually high body count. But with tourists comes trouble, and Harper Starling won’t let anyone ruin her picture-perfect home. A skilled gardener with killer instincts, Harper protects her sanctuary at any cost—especially for her aging mentor with a fading memory.
Troublesome tourists don’t check out of Carnage. They compost beneath Harper’s award-winning flowerbeds. But Nolan Rhodes isn’t your average tourist. Devilishly handsome, disarmingly charming, and skilled with a blade, Nolan is relentless in the pursuit of revenge. On every anniversary of the hit-and-run accident that fractured his life, Nolan slays another target. And he’s saved the best for last: the undeniably beautiful Harper Starling.
The problem? Harper isn’t the monster he expected. And she won’t go down without a fight. When an amateur true crime investigator comes to Cape Carnage on the trail of a long-lost serial killer, Harper and Nolan strike an uneasy truce. If Nolan helps Harper protect her town, she’ll keep quiet about his hunting habits . . . for now. But their alliance soon spirals into obsession, one that threatens to shatter every secret in Carnage—including their fragile love.
Tourist Season is a darkly funny, slow burn enemies-to-lovers romance where destruction and desire are balanced on the edge of a blade—and where love is the most dangerous battleground of all.
My take: 3.25 Worth visiting just for the epic name of the town – Cape Carnage, its quite gory and VERY morally grey, but somehow entertaining, it got me tangled. If you thought her previous series of Butcher and BLackbird was too much, then definitely do not go here, because it really is hard, like they are serial killers and you want to root for them, but its entertaining? again I really do not know what to think and it made me very morally confused and that is not my favorite emotion.
The Women of Wild Hill by Kirsten Miller
Goodreads blurb: A witty, spectacular, and timely tale of modern-day witches waging war on the patriarchy, from fan favorite Kirsten Miller, the author of The Change and Lula Dean’s Little Library of Banned Books.
There are places on earth where nature’s powers gather. Girls raised there are bequeathed strange gifts. A few have powers so dark that they fear to use them. Such a place is Wild Hill, on the tip of Long Island. For centuries, the ghost of a witch murdered by colonists claimed the beautiful and fertile Wild Hill…until a young Scottish woman with strange gifts arrived. Sadie Duncan was allowed to stay.
Five generations of Sadie’s descendants called Wild Hill home, each generation more powerful than the last. Then, in the aftermath of a terrible tragedy, the last of the Duncans, once prophesized to be the most powerful of their kind, abandoned their ancestral home.
One of them, Brigid Laguerre moved to California and turned her dark gift into fame and fortune. Her sister, Phoebe, settled on a ranch in Texas, where women visit in secret for her tonics and cures. Phoebe’s daughter, Sybil, has become a famous chef. Seemingly powerless, Sibyl has never been told of the Duncan bloodline.
Now Brigid, Phoebe, and Sibyl have been brought to Wild Hill to discover their family legacy. The Old One, furious at the path mankind has taken, has chosen three powerful witches to turn the tide. The Duncans will fulfill their destinies—but only if they can set aside their grievances and come together as a family.
My take: 3.75 out of 5. If I was giving stars for this book at the 60% mark it would have been a 5 star read. It is full female empowerment greatness until then. And then we get to the conclusion and it just did not measure up. Actually not even that it didn’t measure up, the ending was quite the dud! I was not a fan as to how what I thought was going to be an epic brought down ended with a fizzle, so my ranking was averaged out.
Kooky Spooky Love by Josie Silver
Goodreads blurb: An up-and-coming ghostbuster and her motley crew tackle a devilish high-wire act, aided (or more often, interrupted) by her rakish ex and the sarcastic reporter she can’t seem to shake—from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Crazy Spooky Love.
Maplemead Castle is crawling with ghosts, and the new owners need them gone. When Melody Bittersweet and the Girls’ Ghostbusting Agency arrive on scene, they quickly identify the main troublemaker swinging from the chandeliers. A century ago, stunning trapeze artist Britannia Lovell plunged to her death in the castle’s grand ballroom, and has continued to haunt it ever since. But did she really just fall, or was there something more to her demise?
Forced to work with Leo Dark, her scoundrel ex, and the infuriating, irresistible reporter Fletcher Gunn, Melody’s investigative powers are under the strain of a heart pulled in two directions. She needs her team in top form, but her best friend Marina’s cake pipeline goes AWOL, her assistant Artie’s distracted by a giant sausage roll, and the pug Lestat is scared witless by a lion. Melody has her work cut out for her.
Somewhere, hidden in the castle, is a heart-breaking secret, but what will it take to find it? And is there a chance it could set Britannia free, or is she doomed to repeat her last fateful act forever?
This is an ARC review thanks to a gift from the publisher.
my take: 2.75 out of 5. I was very lukewarm on Crazy Spooky Love, where i basically said this should have been a 30 min TV episode and not a long book. I had high hopes for this one as I really like Melody, but the same issues abound. This did feel like a more complete case and there is a bit more meat, and i rank it a tad higher than the other, it still feels a bit light for a full novel. It could have been a novella.
Amazon Original stories Scared Sexy. This is my ranking of the three I read, but in general great short and cool romances with a little bit of an spooky edge:
Falling by Christina Lauren
Goodreads blurb: One darkly seductive immortal’s powers of persuasion have worked flawlessly for nine centuries—until he meets the one woman who can resist him—in a wickedly hot short story by New York Times bestselling author Christina Lauren.
Cat should be afraid of Brigan—the devastatingly gorgeous stranger at a Halloween party whose very presence makes everyone else fall at his feet. But while his supernatural allure drives others to mindless obsession, Cat somehow keeps her wits…even as she surrenders to temptation. When this cursed being realizes she alone can see his true nature, one night of searing passion could break a centuries-old spell—or doom them both.
Christina Lauren’s Falling is part of Scared Sexy, a deliciously dark collection of Halloween romance where things that go bump in the night might just steal your heart. These seductive stand-alone stories blend chills and heat in the perfect Halloween treat—each designed to be devoured in one sitting.
my take: 3.5 out of 5
Hot for Slayer by Ali Hazelwood
Goodreads blurb: When a vampire slayer loses all his memories, the only person who can help him is the vampire he’s tried to kill for centuries in this unforgettable short story by #1 New York Times bestselling author Ali Hazelwood.
When Aethelthryth—“Ethel” to her modern-day Manhattan neighbors—finds her sworn nemesis Lazlo Enyedi with no memory of who or what they are, an ancient hunt becomes an unexpected chance at forbidden passion. He’s crashing on her couch, solving her sudoku puzzles, and looking at her like she’s his eternal flame (minus the whole bursting-into-ashes part). As his memories slowly return, Ethel realizes she might be in danger of losing more than just her head…
Ali Hazelwood’s Hot for Slayer is part of Scared Sexy, a deliciously dark collection of Halloween romance where things that go bump in the night might just steal your heart. These seductive stand-alone stories blend chills and heat in the perfect Halloween treat—each designed to be devoured in one sitting.
my take: 3.5 out of 5
Spicy Little Curses by J.T. Geissinger
Goodreads blurb: A reporter’s disbelief in the supernatural is tested when she uncovers a tattoo artist’s sinister family secrets in an enthralling short story by New York Times bestselling author J.T. Geissinger.
Petra is skeptical when it comes to the French Quarter’s creepy urban legends. Until she meets Dax Rousseau, the proprietor of the House of Ink and Blood. The eldritch markings on his flesh tell more than the tale of a doomed bloodline. They come slitheringly alive. And the nearer Petra gets to the maddeningly sexy Dax, the closer she is to being the next victim of his ancient family curse.
J.T. Geissinger’s Spicy Little Curses is part of Scared Sexy, a deliciously dark collection of Halloween romance where things that go bump in the night might just steal your heart. These seductive stand-alone stories blend chills and heat in the perfect Halloween treat—each designed to be devoured in one sitting.
My take: 3 out of 5
Tati's Tidbits 