Publisher: Less Than Three Press

Guest Review: Kelpie Blue by Mell Eight

Posted May 2, 2018 by Tracy in Reviews | 0 Comments

Guest Review: Kelpie Blue by Mell EightReviewer: Tracy
Kelpie Blue by Mell Eight
Series: Out of Underhill #1
Publisher: Less Than Three Press
Publication Date: March 21st 2018
Format: eARC
Point-of-View: Third Person
Genres: M/M, New Adult, Fantasy
Pages: 228
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four-stars
Series Rating: four-stars

Mama always said, don't go near the lake. Rin already knew the forest was filled with dark things, but aside from Mama no one had warned him about the lake. One day, Rin wanders off to the lake, where a beautiful blue horse asks him to go for a swim, and Rin learns too late it may not be a swim he survives.

Kelpie Blue is an enchanting little story about Rin and his kelpie boyfriend Blue.  It follows along with their lives, but it also gives us an insight into how they met, etc., by having Blue read Rin’s diary (and add his own commentary which is pretty damned funny). We get a taste of Underhill in this story as we find out the truth about Rin’s father and those who would hurt Rin, Blue and Mama to get what they want.

I loved this story.  I really liked just about everything I’ve read by Mell Eight and this was just a fun, lovely story.  Rin and Blue were so damned cute together and I loved that Rin didn’t even have a thought about not falling in love with Blue just because he was a kelpie. Blue cracked me up with his comments in the diary as well as his thoughts and words throughout the book.

I wish we’d gotten to spend a little more time in Underhill in the book, but I understood why it was necessary not to do so.  I’m incredibly curious to see what the next book will bring us.

Rating: 4 out of 5

Out of Underhill

four-stars


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Guest Review: Dragon Lesson by Mell Eight

Posted October 26, 2017 by Tracy in Reviews | 3 Comments

Guest Review: Dragon Lesson by Mell EightReviewer: Tracy
Dragon Lesson by Mell Eight
Series: Supernatural Consultant #6
Also in this series: Dragon Consultant, Dragon Deception, Dragon Dilemma, Dragon Detective, Dragon Soldier, Dragon Adventure, Dragon Home
Publisher: Less Than Three Press
Publication Date: October 11th 2017
Genres: M/M, New Adult, Paranormal Romance
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four-stars
Series Rating: four-stars

All Lumie wants is Goldie's beautiful smile, but the only expression he ever shows Lumie is tears. When Goldie asks him for a favor, Lumie leaps at the chance to finally see Goldie happy.

Goldie wants to live a life free of the fear that has chained him for so long, but breaking free of them once and for all may come with a higher price than he and Lumie are prepared to pay.

Lumie wants nothing more than for Goldie to be happy.  He loves him and in a vision he saw Goldie smile.  He wants that to happen in real life.  As Lumie has special powers besides his normal dragon powers, he is contacted by the government as they want him to work for him.  They will pay for his college and then he’ll work for them for 6 years. Lumie isn’t all that excited about college but he knows his brother Alloy is.  When Lumie talks to Goldie about it, he asks if he can come too.  While Lumie hates school he’ll do anything to be close to Goldie – including go to college.  Lumie makes a deal so that he as well as Alloy and Goldie get the same college education and work as he does. Unfortunately the first case that Lumie and Goldie are assigned ends up being one that even Lumie and his special powers can’t deal with.

Goldie spent 5 years being experimented on by scientists before he was rescued.  He has never been far from the dragon town he lives in and while he’s excited about college he’s also very hesitant to go.  He never dreamed that talking to government agents would bring to light what his powers do to him but it changes his life.  Now if he can just get Lumie to love him, he’d have everything.

This was yet another great story in the Supernatural Consultant series.  The books are just so engaging and seeing the dragon kits that we were introduced to in book one grow into young men and women is awesome.  I love that Eight has moved the story along so that 13 or 14 years have passed since it all began.

In this book Lumie finally figures out his strange powers.  He also has found love and wants his mate to be happy.  The way Lumie was with Goldie was so very sweet I had a smile on my face for almost the entire book.  He’s such a caring young man!  I loved that Eight had Lumie grown up but still his mischievous self.

The book was highly entertaining and a wonderful addition to the series.

Rating: 4 out of 5

four-stars


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Guest Review: Dragon Home by Mell Eight

Posted July 18, 2017 by Tracy in Reviews | 2 Comments

Guest Review: Dragon Home by Mell EightReviewer: Tracy
Dragon Home by Mell Eight
Series: Supernatural Consultant #5.2
Also in this series: Dragon Consultant, Dragon Deception, Dragon Dilemma, Dragon Detective, Dragon Soldier, Dragon Adventure, Dragon Lesson
Publisher: Less Than Three Press
Publication Date: June 21st 2017
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four-stars
Series Rating: four-stars

With Rios happily mated and planning an entire future, Aqua can't help but feeling left out. The brother that was always been his chief playmate and best friend is going to leave him behind, which isn't at all acceptable. The obvious answer is to leave first, so Aqua packs a bag to go on an adventure. But this adventure isn't anything like his last one and the chances of him returning home alive dwindle every moment.

Aqua’s brother, Rios, found his mate and now he’s off every day with Nixie and Aqua is left with no one.  He shouldn’t be jealous of Nixie because Rios is so happy, but he is.  When Aqua is moping around the house one morning his Uncle Willy told him that he needed to make friends and he wasn’t going to meet any if he stayed at home moping.  Aqua immediately packs a bag, turns into his water dragon form and heads off on an air current to seek adventure.

Aqua doesn’t know where he is when he realizes that he’s hungry.  He stops in a desert to eat but he gets ready to leave he’s conked on the head.  A family of fire salamanders – led by the oldest brother – ties him up thinking he’s a spy.  Aqua tries to tell them he’s not but they don’t believe him.  When he thinks everyone is gone he meets a silent member of the family.  Ash is an albino salamander.  He can’t create fire and can’t go out in the sun or he’ll burn.  Ash explains that his sister Safara had dated a nearby dragon but when their older brother went to meet the dragon he had brought Safara back with him and they were then at war with the local dragons.

Aqua decides that the only way to work things out is to talk it over with the local dragons.  He takes Ash with him and heads off to play peacemaker.  Unfortunately, what he discovers is something he can’t fix jut by talking.

This was such an adorable story.  I just loved it and would have given it 5 stars had it been a little longer.

Aqua was a good kid/dragon kit and had such a good heart.  He just wanted to be loved and feel like he was a part of something.  Yes, he had his brother and Uncle Willy but he needed more.  Finding Ash and his family situation was a huge turning point in his life and it warmed my heart to see him so happy.

I don’t want to tell you too much about the story because the revelations are worth reading. Now I did put this under M/M but Aqua and Ash are young and the only thing they do is hold hands – just FYI.

As much as I want to get the stories of the other dragon kits from the first few books this was a wonderful interlude and definitely worth reading.

Rating: 4 out of 5

four-stars


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Guest Review: Dragon Adventure by Mell Eight

Posted May 30, 2017 by Tracy in Reviews | 0 Comments

Guest Review: Dragon Adventure by Mell EightReviewer: Tracy
Dragon Adventure by Mell Eight
Series: Supernatural Consultant #5.1
Also in this series: Dragon Consultant, Dragon Deception, Dragon Dilemma, Dragon Detective, Dragon Soldier, Dragon Home, Dragon Lesson
Publisher: Less Than Three Press
Publication Date: May 17th 2017
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three-stars
Series Rating: four-stars

Aqua and Rios are bored, which is always a recipe for disaster. They decide that taking a trip to visit Nickel would be a ton of fun, so they hop on a boat and go sailing down the river. Niagara Falls separates the two kits from their destination, not that they're aware of that fact, and their fun adventure quickly turns into a desperate fight for survival.

Aqua and Rios are water dragons, approximately 15 years old, and are the foster sons of William Armistead.  They are at the North American Territory Leader’s Conference in Canada and since their “Uncle” Willy controls all of Canada he brought them with him so that they could understand what’s going on – he’d been teaching them about his duties. Of course they’re bored out of their minds and as their Uncle Dane didn’t bring his son Nickel with him they have no one to play with.

When they’re dismissed they decide that they’re just going to go visit Nickel. They get out a map and figure it won’t take long at all to get to Nickel as it’s only a few inches of map space – by river…in a rowboat. Obviously it takes longer than expected even with their supernatural powers and they end up getting to shore so they can sleep that night.  Rios is awoken by a sound and finds a Nix, a water shape-shifter, who’s trying to save the waterways from drug dealers. Rios gets attached to the Nix – who he names Nixie – very quickly and decides to help.  The pair get into some trouble but Uncle Willy is there to save the day in more ways than one.

This was a very short but very cute read.  It’s set in the world of the other Supernatural Consultant books, and Dane is in it, but none of Dane’s dragon kits are in it.  Aqua and Rios were adorably rambunctious and I enjoyed reading about their antics.  The story is told with the thought that Rios and Nix will eventually mate but that’s just kind of implied.  They’re too young at the moment to go that far. 🙂  The only reason this story got a lower rating was because of length.   I just couldn’t get too into it all as it was super short.

If you’ve read and enjoyed all of the Supernatural Consultant books so far then I think you’ll enjoy this one as well.

Rating: 3 out of 5

three-stars


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Guest Review: Frostbite by Alexandria Bellefleur

Posted April 26, 2017 by Tracy in Reviews | 1 Comment

Guest Review: Frostbite by Alexandria BellefleurReviewer: Tracy
Frostbite by Alexandria Bellefleur
Publisher: Less Than Three Press
Publication Date: April 26th 2017
Genres: Fantasy, M/M
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three-half-stars

After his sister touches a lethal Frost Flower and succumbs to Frozen Sickness, Rainor seeks out the mysterious Dragon, who purportedly holds the only cure for the fatal disease. In gratitude for saving his sister's life, Rainor agrees to bring him fresh bread twice a week—despite the man's insistence he wants for nothing.

As Rainor makes his deliveries, the two slowly become friends, and Rainor finds in the Dragon all the things he never found in his little village. But on his way to make his latest delivery, the unthinkable happens, and Rainor fears that if he asks for the cure he needs to live, he'll lose the man he's coming to love…

Rainor loves his sister and she means a lot to him.  When he takes her out to the lake and then accidentally falls asleep his devastated when he realizes that she’s touched one of the Frost Flowers.  He knows that he must get the cure to her quickly or she’ll be dead within 24 hours.  The doctor tells him the only cure is up in the mountain cave with the Dragon.

When Rainor arrives in the cave he’s shocked to see how homey it is.  The man they call Dragon isn’t a dragon at all – just a man.  He gladly gives Rainor the cure and asks for nothing in return.  Rainor insists on bringing him bread every three days to pay for the cure and Dragon, actually named Drachen, finally agrees.

At first Rainor is afraid of Drachen but as the days go by and Rainor continues to take the bread, they start to talk and become friends.  Rainor learns the horrible tale of how Drachen came to be living in the caves – evil witchcraft.   When that very witch tricks Rainor into touching one of the Frost Flowers Rainor thinks he can get the cure without bothering Drachen but his decision ends up turning on him.

This was a great little fantasy short story.  It had wonderful characters and the story was well written.  I liked the way that the author wrote Rainor as he was such a good person and rarely put himself first.  This fairytale was a lovely, sweet m/m romance that I truly enjoyed.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

three-half-stars


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