Tag: Self-Published

Review: The Rest of Me by Ashley Munoz

Posted May 22, 2023 by Holly in Reviews | 0 Comments

Review: The Rest of Me by Ashley MunozReviewer: Holly
The Rest Of Me by Ashley Munoz
Narrator: Scarlette Everdeen, Sean Hardisty
Publisher: Self-Published
Publication Date: October 18, 2019
Format: eBook
Source: Kindle Unlimited
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Pages: 284
Length: 8 hours and 7 minutes
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four-stars

Death never simply settles for the life it claims.It’s greedy.It stole all of our lives that night and while it put my husband in the ground, it left my four children and me behind.After an ugly year of grief, something had to change.
My sister suggested open spaces, big skies and fresh air in the heart of Wyoming.We settled into our shared estate the best we could until I met my new neighbor.Arrogant, bossy and rude; Reid was easily the worst person I’d ever met. I'd decided to write him off entirely until I realized he was the only local horse instructor.
I’d heard that if I could get my kids onto a horse, they’d start to heal. Desperation had me creating an alliance with him. Envy had me craving the connection he had with them.
Distracted by the newness of our situation, I missed how close his demons danced to my ghosts. While I was ignorantly letting him take my heart, it was too late to realize . . . He’d already stolen it once before.

I discovered this book through a reel on Bookstagram. The blurb intrigued me so I decided to give it a go. I wasn’t really expecting a dark, angsty read, but the heroine’s husband died a year before the story opens, so she and her children were still in the grieving process, which made for a darker tone. Plus, the MMC had some trauma of his own.

When Layla’s husband died unexpectedly, she gave herself and her children a year to grieve. They’ve basically been in a fog since then, but on the exact one year anniversary of his death she knows she has to push forward so they can find a new normal. For six months they’ve been living in a small town in Wyoming, but they haven’t really interacted with the town much or really settled in. As part of their healing process they start riding lessons with the neighbor next-door. Reid has recently moved back home and is trying to adjust to his new normal as well. It’s a struggle, but spending time with Layla and her kids helps him in unexpected ways.

I really liked Reid and Layla’s four children. The kids were doing their best to find their way without their father, and Reid really stepped into a role they needed. He didn’t take the place of their dad, but he helped them heal and move forward in a positive way. The best part of the book for me was the small ways they interacted with each other. I really felt for him as he tried to give Layla space while also being there for her.

Layla I had a harder time with. She didn’t really deal with any of her grief in the year since her husband passed, so she still had a lot of emotions to work through. I felt for her in that regard. But the way her kids suffered because she wasn’t ready to face anything? I had a harder time with that. Especially since she played hot and cold with Reid and the kids for the majority of the book.

I don’t want to spoil anything, but I’m still trying to decide how I feel about the ending. I saw the plot twist coming, though I had hoped that I was wrong. For all that I enjoyed the romance and the way they all came together, I have a hard time believing that this is an issue that’s put to bed and will never come up again. Especially the way Layla acted throughout the book, constantly pushing Reid away and getting angry at him for making her feel things she wasn’t sure she should (attraction, love, etc). I don’t blame her for it, because I can’t imagine her grief, but that doesn’t leave me with a lot of confidence that she wouldn’t throw his transgressions back in his face at some point. Or that the kids were really as okay with everything as they said. They might feel that way now, but what about down the road?

With a different FMC, this may have worked better, but the way Layla acted throughout the book left me feeling vaguely uneasy about the overall resolution and their HEA.

Rating: 3.75 out of 5

four-stars


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Review: Ancient Warrior by Katie Reus

Posted May 15, 2023 by Casee in Reviews | 0 Comments

Review: Ancient Warrior by Katie ReusReviewer: Casee
Ancient Warrior by Katie Reus
Series: Ancients Rising #8
Also in this series: Ancient Vengeance, Ancient Sentinel
Publisher: Self-Published
Publication Date: April 11, 2023
Format: eARC
Source: NetGalley
Point-of-View: Alternating Third
Genres: Urban Fantasy
Pages: 246
Add It: Goodreads
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four-stars
Series Rating: four-stars

The last time she saw him…
Long before The Fall, before the world changed forever, tiger shifter Harlow worked in Black Ops for the safety of all shifters. She excelled at her job, loved everything about it, until the male she loved tried to kill her. So she was forced to kill him first.
She killed him.
Now Aodh is back. And this fierce, dominant dragon shifter won’t stop until he gets answers. But things aren’t what they seem and now he has more than a battle with Harlow on his hands. If they want a chance at a future, they’ll have to take down an ancient enemy who has targeted not only them, but their friends—and it’s going to take uniting all their skills to survive.
Author note: Each book in the series can be read as a stand-alone, complete with HEA and no cliffhanger.

Harlow has always been a character that I was curious about. She was such a badass from the moment she appeared. I was really looking forward to seeing who the hero would be that could deal with her dominant personality.

Long before The Fall, Harlow & Aodh worked on a Black Ops team. They were responsible for policing the supernatural. When Aodh turned against Harlow, she was forced to kill him. Or so she thinks. Even after all the years that have passed, Harlow still feels the loss of her would-be mate. Now Aodh is back and wants revenge on Harlow & the rest of the team for deserting him. The only problem with that is that he loves Harlow deeply & could never hurt her. He has no idea why she or the rest of his team abandoned him, but he does know that he won’t let her go so easily.

When Aodh returns, Harlow knows that something went terribly wrong. The man that she thought she killed was not Aodh. It was a witch that wanted Aodh for the dragon inside him. After draining him of his powers for decades, Aodh is finally free. Now Harlow & Aodh have to work together with the rest of their pack to find the witch that destroyed both their worlds.

I loved both Harlow & Aodh. While it was hard for both of them to forgive the other one, they realized that they would have to work together to bring down the witch responsible for so much pain & suffering in their lives. I enjoyed Harlow immensely. She was a great heroine. Aodh wasn’t bad himself, but it was really Harlow that shined on the pages. My only complaint was that the book was way too short.

Rating: 3.75 out of 5.

Ancients Rising

four-stars


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Review: Stray by Andrea K. Höst

Posted May 2, 2023 by Holly in Reviews | 3 Comments

Review: Stray by Andrea K. HöstReviewer: Holly
Stray by Andrea K. Höst
Narrator: Stephanie Macfie
Series: Touchstone #1
Publisher: Self-Published
Publication Date: March 20, 2011
Format: Audiobook, eBook
Source: Purchased
Point-of-View: First
Cliffhanger: View Spoiler »
Content Warning: View Spoiler »
Genres: Science Fiction
Pages: 273
Length: 9 hours and 50 minutes
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four-stars
Series Rating: four-stars

On her last day of high school, Cassandra Devlin walked out of exams and into a forest. Surrounded by the wrong sort of trees, and animals never featured in any nature documentary, Cass is only sure of one thing; alone, she will be lucky to survive.
The sprawl of abandoned blockish buildings Cass discovers offers her only more puzzles. Where are the people? What is the intoxicating mist which drifts off the buildings in the moonlight? And why does she feel like she's being watched?
Increasingly unnerved, Cass is overjoyed at the arrival of the formidable Setari. Whisked to a world as technologically advanced as the first was primitive, where nanotech computers are grown inside people's skulls, and few have any interest in venturing outside the enormous whitestone cities, Cass finds herself processed as a 'stray', a refugee displaced by the gates torn between worlds. Struggling with an unfamiliar language and culture, she must adapt to virtual classrooms, friends who can teleport, and the ingrained attitude that strays are backward and slow.
Can Cass ever find her way home? And after the people of her new world discover her unexpected value, will they be willing to let her leave?

Stray (Touchstone #1) by Andrea K. Höst was recommended by reader Kareni. At the time of this writing it is free for Kindle. I tried reading it several times, but never fell into the story and always ended up setting it aside. The first 1/4 or so of the book is fairly slow. It’s told in the form of diary entries, and the early portions were slow, with no dialogue to break up the monotony. I’m glad I pushed through, however, since I really ended up enjoying the story.

Cassandra Devlin is walking home from her last day of high school in Australia when she is suddenly….somewhere else. A strange land not-unlike Earth, but perhaps also not Earth. After weeks of surviving on her own on this abandoned planet, she is rescued and taken to a new, technologically advanced planet, Tare, where she’s treated as a stray – a displaced refugee. She’s implanted with an interface that helps her translate their language, but leaves her without privacy. She also starts developing strange and wonderous gifts, which she’s told isn’t uncommon in strays, though never to this degree. Paired with the Setari, psychically advances special ops soldiers, because of her emerging abilities as an enhancer (touching her gives the Setari a power boost), Cassandra learns there is a shadow-type land that separates our world from all others. Tears have started to happen between worlds, which allow Ionnoth, deadly shadow monsters capable of destroying entries worlds through. The Setari fight these monsters to keep the Tareans and all others safe. When the Tareans realize Cassandra may hold the key to unlocking their home world (the planet she spent weeks surviving alone), she’s watched even more closely. She’ll have to decide

The difficulties Cassandra deals with as a stray, and as a person who has developing abilities the Tareans haven’t dealt with before, were interesting to read about. There are so many different threads – Cassandra’s lack of privacy and the way she feels she’s “punished” and put in a box when she’s sent to medical, the tears between worlds and the battles they face, the quest the Tareans are on to reclaim their home world with the help of Cassandra, etc. This is a complex plot in a multifaceted world. Frankly, I still don’t have all the terms and names straight and at times I find it to be slow moving, but I am invested in Cassandra and her journey. I can’t wait for the next book.

Rating: 3.75 out of 5

Touchstone

four-stars


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Review: Ancient Sentinel by Katie Reus

Posted April 10, 2023 by Casee in Reviews | 1 Comment

Review: Ancient Sentinel by Katie ReusReviewer: Casee
Ancient Sentinel by Katie Reus
Series: Ancients Rising #7
Also in this series: Ancient Vengeance, Ancient Warrior
Publisher: Self-Published
Publication Date: January 24, 2023
Format: eARC
Source: NetGalley
Point-of-View: Alternating Third
Genres: Urban Fantasy
Pages: 137
Add It: Goodreads
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three-stars
Series Rating: four-stars

He never expected her…
Jaguar shifter Ren never expected to fall for anyone again—not after the last woman he opened his heart to tried to cut it out. Literally. But the moment he met Grace, he fell fast and hard for the sweet human. Except she’s made it clear she’s only looking for friendship, and he wants it all.
But he’ll do anything to claim her heart.
Grace officially has a crush on her friend—a quiet jaguar shifter with kind eyes and deadly skills. However, he hasn’t given any indication he wants more than friendship. So she vows to move on—until they’re given an assignment by their Alpha. When they’re stuck together under the same roof, sharing one bed, it becomes impossible to hide her attraction. But then an unknown threat surfaces, putting Grace’s life in danger, and Ren will stop at nothing to protect the woman he knows is his mate.

Grace has had a crush on Ren for quite some time. At the beginning of the book, she decides that she’s going to lay it all out there. She’s going to go for it & tell Ren exactly how she feels about him. Her plans are derailed when she heads to his home & finds him hugging a woman. Her hopes & dreams of being with Ren are instantly dashed. It seems that all they will ever be is friends. Ren wants Grace with a fierceness that surprises even him, especially after what he’s gone through in the past.

This is a rather short review because it was a rather short book. I would say that it is more a novella than a full-length book. I didn’t really connect with either Ren or Grace. There was no backstory into Ren’s past. They got together fairly quickly, then the book just ended. It wasn’t a bad book, it just wasn’t my favorite in the series.

Rating: 3 out of 5.

Ancients Rising

three-stars


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Review: Knight’s Redemption by Sherilee Gray

Posted February 27, 2023 by Casee in Reviews | 1 Comment

Review: Knight’s Redemption by Sherilee GrayReviewer: Casee
Knight's Redemption by Sherilee Gray
Series: Knights of Hell #1
Publisher: Self-Published
Publication Date: October 24, 2018
Format: eBook
Source: Kindle Unlimited
Point-of-View: Alternating Third
Genres: Paranormal Romance
Pages: 298
Add It: Goodreads
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three-stars
Series Rating: three-stars

With one fatal mistake, immortal demon hunter Lazarus started a chain reaction that set him and his five brothers on a collision course straight to Hell. There's only one way to save them all-claim his mate, a sweet beauty he doesn't deserve and will only end up hurting. But immortals fall hard, and walking away from her when it's over is going to be near-impossible. When bookstore owner Eve Taylor starts hearing the thoughts of others, she is certain she's losing her mind. Until the day a wickedly seductive and dangerous warrior appears and introduces her to a terrifying new world-one she has been part of her whole life and never knew. Now, with a traitor consumed by darkness and driven by revenge hunting them, they have one chance at survival. But they must give into the scorching desire that, if they let it, could destroy them both.

Eve Taylor is a local bookstore owner that has no idea that the paranormal exists. When a strange man comes into her shop, she is instantly wary. When he kills one of her regulars, who is actually a demon, she loses her shit. Eve has always known she was different than other people, but she had no idea how different she was. It’s only been recently that she has been able to hear thoughts of those around her. Even then, she never considered that the supernatural existed, let alone that she would end up abandoning the life that she has built.

Lazarus is a Knight of Hell. His sole purpose on the Earth is to protect it from demons. When he first senses Eve, he instantly knows who she is to him. His mate & the other half of his soul. The only problem is that he doesn’t want a mate. After losing the woman that he thought of as a daughter, Lazarus blames himself for her death. While the demon side of him wants Eve desperately, he will never put her in a position where her life will be put at risk. Then he gets to know her & all his plans go straight to hell (heh).

This book was an extremely easy read. Lazarus was pretty annoying what with his refusal to take Eve as his mate, or even tell her that she is his mate. He’s so determined to protect her that he almost fails to see what is right in front of him. Eve was a great heroine, a woman that knows her own mind & wants to learn. As a newly awakened demi-demon, she is just coming into her powers & Lazarus might be the only one that can help her mater them.

I liked this book enough to read on, though it wasn’t spectacular by any stretch of the imagination.

Rating: 3 out of 5.

Knights of Hell

three-stars


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