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Psy-Changeling #12.5 (Secrets at Midnight)
Night Shift
New York Times best-selling author Nalini Singh delivers a smoldering story with Secrets at Midnight, as the scent of Bastien Smith's elusive lover ignites a possessiveness in him that's as feral as it is ecstatic. And now that he's found his mate, he'll do anything to keep her. In one New York Times best-selling author Ilona Andrews' novella Magic Steals, when people start going missing, shapeshifting tigress Dali Harimau and jaguar shifter Jim Shrapshire must uncover the truth about the mysterious creatures responsible. In Milla Vane's The Beast of Blackmoor, a warrior princess must tame a savage beast to earn a place among her people. But she quickly discovers that the beast isn't a monster, but a barbarian warrior who intends to do some taming himself. It's seer Makenna Frazier's first day on the job at Supernatural Protection and Investigations, when bodyguard duty for a leprechaun prince's bachelor party goes every which way but right in nationally best-selling author Lisa Shearin's Lucky Charms.
13 pages, Audible Audio
First published November 24, 2014
About the author
Nalini Singh
231 books26.1k followersI've been writing as long as I can remember and all of my stories always held a thread of romance (even when I was writing about a prince who could shoot lasers out of his eyes). I love creating unique characters, love giving them happy endings and I even love the voices in my head. There's no other job I would rather be doing. In September 2002, when I got the call that Silhouette Desire wanted to buy my first book, Desert Warrior, it was a dream come true. I hope to continue living the dream until I keel over of old age on my keyboard.
I was born in Fiji and raised in New Zealand. I also spent three years living and working in Japan, during which time I took the chance to travel around Asia. I’m back in New Zealand now, but I’m always plotting new trips. If you’d like to see some of my travel snapshots, have a look at the Travel Diary page (updated every month).
So far, I've worked as a lawyer, a librarian, a candy factory general hand, a bank temp and an English teacher and not necessarily in that order. Some might call that inconsistency but I call it grist for the writer's mill.
I was born in Fiji and raised in New Zealand. I also spent three years living and working in Japan, during which time I took the chance to travel around Asia. I’m back in New Zealand now, but I’m always plotting new trips. If you’d like to see some of my travel snapshots, have a look at the Travel Diary page (updated every month).
So far, I've worked as a lawyer, a librarian, a candy factory general hand, a bank temp and an English teacher and not necessarily in that order. Some might call that inconsistency but I call it grist for the writer's mill.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 860 reviews
December 23, 2017
I only read Secrets at Midnight by Nalini Singh but it was awesome. I loved Mercy's little brother so I really enjoy Bash's story!
December 30, 2017
BR with Armina, Evgeny, Monty Cupcake, Eilonwy, Asya, Robin, Vicky, cathepsut, Catherine, Jessica and our fellow freaks over at IAA starting March 20, 2015.
● Magic Steals ★★
● Secrets at Mignight ★★
● Lucky Charms ★★★★
● The Beast of Blackmoor: ★
►►► Overall rating: ★★
▧ Magic Steals (Kate Daniels #6.5): ★★
Yes this is me the self-confessed IA addict giving one of their stories a 2-star rating. A story from the KD series no less. You would have told me as much last week I would have laughed at you. Me? Rating an IA story anything less than a 4? You have to be joking. I never thought it would happen. But here we are.
① Dali "I’m not an alpha. I’m a half-blind, vegetarian tiger" Harimau.
►I was expecting this:
►I got this:
►Which made me feel like this:
→ Dali ruined the story for me.
☠ Grievance #1: she is supposed to be 27 years old and yet she acts like an immature teenager. The way she talks about "making out" with Jim makes her sound like a 15-year-old. And don't get me started on her asking Jim to hide whenever her mommy is around {insert MAJOR eyeroll here}.
☠ Grievance #2: I don't want my heroines to be perfect and I don't mind if they are insecure but this was just too much. A non-stop pity party. It drove me insane. "I look ridiculous," blah blah blah, "I don't look hot," blah blah blah, "I'm weak," blah blah blah, "I'm not good enough for Jim," blah blah blah, "Jim is a total badass and I'm totally pathetic," blah blah blah, "I'm not fierce enough to be an alpha," blah blah blah…
② Physical description overkill.
Jim is hot. Jim has broad shoulders. Jim has big muscles. Jim smells like citrus. Jim has a great chest. Jim is hot. Jim smells like citrus. Jim is tall. Jim's muscles are hard. Jim has beautiful dark eyes. Jim has big muscles. Jim is hot. Jim smells like citrus. Jim has a six-pack. Did I mention Jim was hot?
③ The story is boring.
I didn't find it engaging. At all. I wasn't interested. At all. And I should have been. This should have been a cool story . Well it wasn't.
④ UF vs PNR.
So I thought this was going to be UF, KD-style. But it read like PNR. Bad PNR at that. Actually this shouldn't have been a problem. I mean, this is IA. I love anything these two write. Even their cute YA short stories *gasps* I should have liked this dammit!
You know what, forget it. I think I'll just pretend this never happened. Just give me KD back and we should be fine.
▧ Secrets at Midnight (Psy-Changeling #12.5): ★★
→ Note to self: stop reading the short-stories in this series.
► You know you're reading bad PNR when half of the story is filled with descriptions of the uber Alpha's amazing body (see above ↑↑↑). And the other half is filled with lovey-dovey crap. Bonus points awarded for throwing in a gorgeous, curvaceous, lonely, scared/scarred but fierce and uninhibited 24-year-old virgin. And let's not forget theinsta-love mating thing. AND the required HEA. A dream come true.
► Let's be honest here: I read the first three books in this series and actually loved books 1 and 3 (feel free to gasp here). Of course most of the required PNR tropes are there but the world building is pretty amazing (especially the Psy side of things) so I managed to read the books without going into sugar shock (well mostly). Oh, and the uber Alphas are pretty hot too (watch Judd thaw). And thesex scenes are yummy relationships dynamics are very interesting . But I digress.
❂ ❂ Simple maths time ❂❂
PNR tropes - amazing world-building = any short story in this series = I want to shoot myself =
▧ Lucky Charms (SPI Files #0.5): ★★★★
YES! Yes, yes, yes, yesssssss! It turns out buying this collection wasn't such a waste of money after all!!
→ Lisa Shearin's recipe for awesomeness:
① Wacky characters galore:
Hungover/stoned elves, gargoyles, stoned/horny/sex-shifting/cross-dressing leprechauns, a naked, 96 years old Russian werewolf, an ogre manager, a vampire manager, a dragon CEO, Seelie, Unseelie, a river hag, a voodoo high priestess, sexy as hell goblins, succubi, incubi and flying monkeys. Oh yeah.
② Crazy storyline:
Makenna's first day on the job at Supernatural Protection & Investigations. A stolen bakery delivery truck. An oddly assorted bunch of SPI agents. 5 horny leprechauns on the loose. Strip clubs. Sex clubs. Disney porn princesses. Clover weed. And the possible failure of the banking system of the supernatural world. Crazy doesn't even begin to cover it.
③ Likeable female & male leads:
✔ Makenna: the rookie. Funny, snarky, sensitive to clover weed, makes Inspector Gadget & Blues Brothers references, would do just about anything for a good dental plan.
✔ Ian: the babysitter. Don't know much about you yet but I'm pretty sure you'd make a lovely addition to my harem.
④ Hilarious scenes & great banter:
→ take ① + ②, add an extra dose of crazy, three cups of humour, mix well and you get:
SPI Files, here I come!
▧ The Beast of Blackmoor: ★
Oh wow. Now *this* is a real winner.
Imagine that: a virginal yet uninhibited and fierce Xena the Warrior Princess on a quest to tame a forsaken Conan the Barbarian. Bad fantasy meets bad PNR. A dream come true.
This was so bad I think I'll stick to a list otherwise we'll be here all night and I'm pretty sure you have better things to do with your lives. Let's go.
► The Beast of Blackmoor deserves a 1-star rating because:
① Badly written story
② Confusing story
③ Boring story
④ Ridiculous dialogues. A special award goes to the dialogues during the sex scenes (see ⑧).
⑤ Instalove
⑥ Virginal yet uninhibited and fierce heroine
⑦ Fierce/wronged/cursed/unloved/oh-so-very-lonely/super hot macho barbarian warrior with a heart.
⑧ Awfully written sex scenes with the most ridiculous dialogues ever:
⑨ Manufactured drama
►►► And the icing on the cake:
⑩ The virginal yet uninhibited and fierce heroine who lets the Neanderthal warrior treat her like a whore. But it's perfectly alright. Really, it is. She's going along with all this for his own good. It's all part of her "let's tame this little warrior" quest. Obviously. So please Mr Neanderthal Warrior, go ahead and treat the Xena wannabe like a piece of meat. And demean her while you're at it. But hey, she's stupid enough to accept your "go down on me now you whore" attitude so by all means, keep going. Besides, she's super fierce and a total badass, she can take it.
● Magic Steals ★★
● Secrets at Mignight ★★
● Lucky Charms ★★★★
● The Beast of Blackmoor: ★
►►► Overall rating: ★★
▧ Magic Steals (Kate Daniels #6.5): ★★
Yes this is me the self-confessed IA addict giving one of their stories a 2-star rating. A story from the KD series no less. You would have told me as much last week I would have laughed at you. Me? Rating an IA story anything less than a 4? You have to be joking. I never thought it would happen. But here we are.
① Dali "I’m not an alpha. I’m a half-blind, vegetarian tiger" Harimau.
►I was expecting this:
►I got this:
►Which made me feel like this:
→ Dali ruined the story for me.
☠ Grievance #1: she is supposed to be 27 years old and yet she acts like an immature teenager. The way she talks about "making out" with Jim makes her sound like a 15-year-old. And don't get me started on her asking Jim to hide whenever her mommy is around {insert MAJOR eyeroll here}.
☠ Grievance #2: I don't want my heroines to be perfect and I don't mind if they are insecure but this was just too much. A non-stop pity party. It drove me insane. "I look ridiculous," blah blah blah, "I don't look hot," blah blah blah, "I'm weak," blah blah blah, "I'm not good enough for Jim," blah blah blah, "Jim is a total badass and I'm totally pathetic," blah blah blah, "I'm not fierce enough to be an alpha," blah blah blah…
② Physical description overkill.
Jim is hot. Jim has broad shoulders. Jim has big muscles. Jim smells like citrus. Jim has a great chest. Jim is hot. Jim smells like citrus. Jim is tall. Jim's muscles are hard. Jim has beautiful dark eyes. Jim has big muscles. Jim is hot. Jim smells like citrus. Jim has a six-pack. Did I mention Jim was hot?
③ The story is boring.
I didn't find it engaging. At all. I wasn't interested. At all. And I should have been. This should have been a cool story . Well it wasn't.
④ UF vs PNR.
So I thought this was going to be UF, KD-style. But it read like PNR. Bad PNR at that. Actually this shouldn't have been a problem. I mean, this is IA. I love anything these two write. Even their cute YA short stories *gasps* I should have liked this dammit!
You know what, forget it. I think I'll just pretend this never happened. Just give me KD back and we should be fine.
▧ Secrets at Midnight (Psy-Changeling #12.5): ★★
→ Note to self: stop reading the short-stories in this series.
► You know you're reading bad PNR when half of the story is filled with descriptions of the uber Alpha's amazing body (see above ↑↑↑). And the other half is filled with lovey-dovey crap. Bonus points awarded for throwing in a gorgeous, curvaceous, lonely, scared/scarred but fierce and uninhibited 24-year-old virgin. And let's not forget the
► Let's be honest here: I read the first three books in this series and actually loved books 1 and 3 (feel free to gasp here). Of course most of the required PNR tropes are there but the world building is pretty amazing (especially the Psy side of things) so I managed to read the books without going into sugar shock (well mostly). Oh, and the uber Alphas are pretty hot too (watch Judd thaw). And the
❂ ❂ Simple maths time ❂❂
PNR tropes - amazing world-building = any short story in this series = I want to shoot myself =
▧ Lucky Charms (SPI Files #0.5): ★★★★
YES! Yes, yes, yes, yesssssss! It turns out buying this collection wasn't such a waste of money after all!!
→ Lisa Shearin's recipe for awesomeness:
① Wacky characters galore:
Hungover/stoned elves, gargoyles, stoned/horny/sex-shifting/cross-dressing leprechauns, a naked, 96 years old Russian werewolf, an ogre manager, a vampire manager, a dragon CEO, Seelie, Unseelie, a river hag, a voodoo high priestess, sexy as hell goblins, succubi, incubi and flying monkeys. Oh yeah.
② Crazy storyline:
Makenna's first day on the job at Supernatural Protection & Investigations. A stolen bakery delivery truck. An oddly assorted bunch of SPI agents. 5 horny leprechauns on the loose. Strip clubs. Sex clubs. Disney porn princesses. Clover weed. And the possible failure of the banking system of the supernatural world. Crazy doesn't even begin to cover it.
③ Likeable female & male leads:
✔ Makenna: the rookie. Funny, snarky, sensitive to clover weed, makes Inspector Gadget & Blues Brothers references, would do just about anything for a good dental plan.
✔ Ian: the babysitter. Don't know much about you yet but I'm pretty sure you'd make a lovely addition to my harem.
④ Hilarious scenes & great banter:
→ take ① + ②, add an extra dose of crazy, three cups of humour, mix well and you get:
SPI Files, here I come!
▧ The Beast of Blackmoor: ★
Oh wow. Now *this* is a real winner.
Imagine that: a virginal yet uninhibited and fierce Xena the Warrior Princess on a quest to tame a forsaken Conan the Barbarian. Bad fantasy meets bad PNR. A dream come true.
This was so bad I think I'll stick to a list otherwise we'll be here all night and I'm pretty sure you have better things to do with your lives. Let's go.
► The Beast of Blackmoor deserves a 1-star rating because:
① Badly written story
② Confusing story
③ Boring story
④ Ridiculous dialogues. A special award goes to the dialogues during the sex scenes (see ⑧).
⑤ Instalove
⑥ Virginal yet uninhibited and fierce heroine
⑦ Fierce/wronged/cursed/unloved/oh-so-very-lonely/super hot macho barbarian warrior with a heart.
⑧ Awfully written sex scenes with the most ridiculous dialogues ever:
⑨ Manufactured drama
►►► And the icing on the cake:
⑩ The virginal yet uninhibited and fierce heroine who lets the Neanderthal warrior treat her like a whore. But it's perfectly alright. Really, it is. She's going along with all this for his own good. It's all part of her "let's tame this little warrior" quest. Obviously. So please Mr Neanderthal Warrior, go ahead and treat the Xena wannabe like a piece of meat. And demean her while you're at it. But hey, she's stupid enough to accept your "go down on me now you whore" attitude so by all means, keep going. Besides, she's super fierce and a total badass, she can take it.
December 9, 2014
4 Dali Needs A Dose Of Confidence Stars
This novella takes place while Kate, Curran and the gang are away in Europe and Jim has the run of the keep. True to Ilona Andrews' style, this novella is well structures, fun and action packed, without seeming rushed or glossing over storylines. And Dali's mom once again stole the show.
But, after all this time I still can't see Dali and Jim as a couple. I know this is something that most people disagree with me on but I just can't connect with them. Dali's lack of confidence and pity-partying was a bit over the top, and if I read the phrase "blind, skinny tiger girl" once more I would be tempted to kill her. But all in all I liked the book. And I generally like Dali too, she is sweet and compassionate. She just needs to start believing in herself.
Just the Ilona Andrews story for now.
“You need to neuter him. Otherwise he’ll spray all over the house. The stench is awful. And when he isn’t out catting around, little female cats in heat will show up and wail under the windows.”
Kill me, please. “He is a nice cat. He’s not like that.”
“It’s instinct, Dali. Before you know it, you’ll be running a feline whorehouse.”
This novella takes place while Kate, Curran and the gang are away in Europe and Jim has the run of the keep. True to Ilona Andrews' style, this novella is well structures, fun and action packed, without seeming rushed or glossing over storylines. And Dali's mom once again stole the show.
But, after all this time I still can't see Dali and Jim as a couple. I know this is something that most people disagree with me on but I just can't connect with them. Dali's lack of confidence and pity-partying was a bit over the top, and if I read the phrase "blind, skinny tiger girl" once more I would be tempted to kill her. But all in all I liked the book. And I generally like Dali too, she is sweet and compassionate. She just needs to start believing in herself.
You’re a weretiger. Confident. Aggressive. Roar.
“Dali, you are a tiger. You’re the largest cat on the planet and you weigh over seven hundred pounds in your beast form.[...]You don’t have to be a good fighter for us to make a good team. If you just sit on our attacker for a second, that’s enough for me to kill them.”
Just the Ilona Andrews story for now.
April 12, 2015
Buddy read beginning March 20th…YES we finally have a date joining me will be Armina, Asya, Eilonwy, Evgeny, Monty Cupcake, oOSarahOo, Catherine, Vicky, Gavin and Jessica on Ilona Andrews Addicts (IAA)
Overall 4 stars for the entire anthology
I’m a huge Ilona Andrews (IA) fan so this story is the reason I bought the anthology. I think for most people it will be a love it or hate it sort of story. Dali is not your typical IA heroine in that she isn’t really sure of herself, she lacks confidence, she isn’t a good physical fighter, blood makes her sick to her stomach and she has a tendency to forget what she is doing after shifting. But she does know how to do kick ass magic using calligraphy, she has ancient magic powers, a car named pookie and is trying to figure out how to date the alpha male of the Cat clan.
I understand Dali, while I would love to be like Kate or Andrea and just be a kickass heroine with some deadly skills Dali is far more human to me. She has some of the same flaws I had going into my mid 20s. I mean the last time I think I tried to be ‘sexy’ for my husband my heel caught on the lingerie and I tripped fell onto him in the least sexy and most painful way possible long fingernails falling on upper inner thighs you get the idea. I’m not ‘sexy’ in the traditional sense, I’m bubbly, fun, inventive and cute but it took me awhile to realize to him that made me beautiful and perfect to him so I get Dali’s lack of confidence and how she sometimes gets stuck in her head overthinking everything.
This is Dali and Jim’s story to figure out how to be a strong team together. It is clear at the beginning of this that they haven’t really figured out what is going on between them since their first novella. With Curran/Kate and crew away Jim has been running the Pack and Keep. But finally they will get to spend a bit of time together. Seeing a deeper side to Jim was really good. I always just thought of him as Security officer Jim but Magic Steals dives a bit into how multifaceted Jim really is and maybe what we have seen up until now is just the face he wants us to see.
Dali and Jim are spending a lovely day together tracking down whatever seems to be targeting the owners of a strip mall. I like the dynamic between them. Dali is so adorably clueless as to why he could like her so much so she is so standoffish about telling anyone they are dating sure that it isn’t going to last. Jim however is big alpha man and will not be kept a secret even if that means he has to make all the big moves and out them one Thud! at a time.
All in all I liked the new magics introduced in the story. There are some new fighting styles blending the changeling fighting skills that Jim possesses with the magical mojo that Dali can throw down. I think it did a great job in showing that they could be a power couple in the rest of the series. Also I really appreciated how Dali explained to Jim all of the worries she had about what it would mean if they were a mated pair. I respected all the logic she threw in there but I adored Jim for having a counter to everything she said.
This isn’t the strongest story in the Kate Daniels World but still enough to just tide me over until something else by them comes out.
I have found that Nalini Singh’s novellas are pure PNR fluff for the most part. There is nothing wrong with that sometimes I just want some fluff in 80 pages or less. But if you go in expecting world building or wanting some sort of plot besides a quick romance then you will be disappointed.
Secrets at Midnight follows one of Mercy’s brothers Bastian as he tries to help his mate discover the cat that has been suppressed inside her for years. Kirby has no idea that she is in anyway a changeling and it seems that being around more of them has triggered something deep inside of her.
Honestly out of all the stories in the anthology this was my least favorite Kirby and Bastian are likable enough but all and all it is a lot like any other PNR story with a quick bonding or insta-love thrown in.
Lucky Charms was my favorite story in this anthology.
What didn’t this story have in it? On her first night of work Makenna Fraser has been chewed out by an Ogre, talked to a water sprite, been teamed up with a reluctant and deadly human babysitter, seen a werewolf naked and a few fae high on clover, gone searching for a leprechaun bachelor party run amuck and almost been snatched by a deadly yet oh so sexy Goblin all why trying not to upset her new dragon boss. Maybe it would have been easier to mention all the things not in this story.
[image error]
Apparently this realm of earth has become a hot spot for all things mythical, magical and lorelike.
’And for them, our world and dimension now ranked at the top of their “Best Places to Live, Work, Play, and Eat” list. Unfortunately, the “eat” part often included humans. Why all the attention? From what I understand, it all started with two little words: indoor plumbing’ SPI is the agency tasked with keeping all things supernatural on the down low from the delicate humans and Makenna is their newest employee. If her first night on the job is any indication things will never be dull.
Makenna and new partner Ian are running around a bunch of strip clubs looking for a bachelor party consisting of five horney leprechauns one of whom is a prince who slipped their security detail.
I had so much fun on this little trip. The writing is hilarious and there was just enough sexy in it to make my eyes perk up, I do love a good sexual tension tease. I was not expecting such a fun story and this had just enough of everything to grab my hook line and sinker so I plan on continuing on with the series.
I’d never heard of Milla Vane before this anthology so I have no idea what any of her other work is like but I will be sure to look for her in the future.
Beast of Blackmoor is a high fantasy love story *gasp* I know there aren’t a lot of those out there. My friend Gavin best summed this up as a porn version of Conan. Kavik, desperate for revenge asked help of a goddess. When she refused he defiled her temple and was cursed to be forsaken and watch all those he cared for suffer until the Woman in Red ended him. Note to self: Do not anger goddesses, woman scorned and all that.
Mala is on a quest for a goddess to tame the Beast of Blackmoor in order to gain the warriors she needs to save her homeland. Both warriors are strong in both body and will so which one of these alphas will win and bring the other to heel.
Just a little warning the sexy times (I was not expecting them so big bonus) are a little harsh. It fits with the story line, these are warriors and not scribes but still very dominance alpha in nature and slightly crude. I never have issues with sex scenes like this but it might be rougher than some like.
Overall the plot and story line are pretty well flushed out for a novella and I wouldn’t mind learning more about the evil in the land the demons that seem to be infecting creatures or the big big bad that they haven’t encountered yet.
Milla Vane, I’ll be watching you as High Fantasy Romance could be my Achilles Heel.
Overall 4 stars for the entire anthology
≺✿Magic Steals ★★★★ ✿≻
I’m a huge Ilona Andrews (IA) fan so this story is the reason I bought the anthology. I think for most people it will be a love it or hate it sort of story. Dali is not your typical IA heroine in that she isn’t really sure of herself, she lacks confidence, she isn’t a good physical fighter, blood makes her sick to her stomach and she has a tendency to forget what she is doing after shifting. But she does know how to do kick ass magic using calligraphy, she has ancient magic powers, a car named pookie and is trying to figure out how to date the alpha male of the Cat clan.
I understand Dali, while I would love to be like Kate or Andrea and just be a kickass heroine with some deadly skills Dali is far more human to me. She has some of the same flaws I had going into my mid 20s. I mean the last time I think I tried to be ‘sexy’ for my husband my heel caught on the lingerie and I tripped fell onto him in the least sexy and most painful way possible long fingernails falling on upper inner thighs you get the idea. I’m not ‘sexy’ in the traditional sense, I’m bubbly, fun, inventive and cute but it took me awhile to realize to him that made me beautiful and perfect to him so I get Dali’s lack of confidence and how she sometimes gets stuck in her head overthinking everything.
This is Dali and Jim’s story to figure out how to be a strong team together. It is clear at the beginning of this that they haven’t really figured out what is going on between them since their first novella. With Curran/Kate and crew away Jim has been running the Pack and Keep. But finally they will get to spend a bit of time together. Seeing a deeper side to Jim was really good. I always just thought of him as Security officer Jim but Magic Steals dives a bit into how multifaceted Jim really is and maybe what we have seen up until now is just the face he wants us to see.
“For the first three years with her all I did was covert work,” Jim said. “Pretend to be someone you’re not. Go to the right place at the right time, listen, talk to people, be likeable and be convincing. It wasn’t my favorite part of the job, but I’ve learned to be what people expect me to be.
Dali and Jim are spending a lovely day together tracking down whatever seems to be targeting the owners of a strip mall. I like the dynamic between them. Dali is so adorably clueless as to why he could like her so much so she is so standoffish about telling anyone they are dating sure that it isn’t going to last. Jim however is big alpha man and will not be kept a secret even if that means he has to make all the big moves and out them one Thud! at a time.
My mother stared at the ceiling. “Did you hear that?”
“Hear what?” I asked, my eyes wide.
I would kill Jim. He could sit completely motionless for hours when on stakeouts. I’d seen him do it. He had to be dropping things on purpose. Thud!
All in all I liked the new magics introduced in the story. There are some new fighting styles blending the changeling fighting skills that Jim possesses with the magical mojo that Dali can throw down. I think it did a great job in showing that they could be a power couple in the rest of the series. Also I really appreciated how Dali explained to Jim all of the worries she had about what it would mean if they were a mated pair. I respected all the logic she threw in there but I adored Jim for having a counter to everything she said.
This isn’t the strongest story in the Kate Daniels World but still enough to just tide me over until something else by them comes out.
≺✾ Secrets At Midnight ★★½ ✾≻
I have found that Nalini Singh’s novellas are pure PNR fluff for the most part. There is nothing wrong with that sometimes I just want some fluff in 80 pages or less. But if you go in expecting world building or wanting some sort of plot besides a quick romance then you will be disappointed.
Secrets at Midnight follows one of Mercy’s brothers Bastian as he tries to help his mate discover the cat that has been suppressed inside her for years. Kirby has no idea that she is in anyway a changeling and it seems that being around more of them has triggered something deep inside of her.
Honestly out of all the stories in the anthology this was my least favorite Kirby and Bastian are likable enough but all and all it is a lot like any other PNR story with a quick bonding or insta-love thrown in.
≺❀ Lucky Charms ★★★★½ ❀≻
Lucky Charms was my favorite story in this anthology.
What didn’t this story have in it? On her first night of work Makenna Fraser has been chewed out by an Ogre, talked to a water sprite, been teamed up with a reluctant and deadly human babysitter, seen a werewolf naked and a few fae high on clover, gone searching for a leprechaun bachelor party run amuck and almost been snatched by a deadly yet oh so sexy Goblin all why trying not to upset her new dragon boss. Maybe it would have been easier to mention all the things not in this story.
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Apparently this realm of earth has become a hot spot for all things mythical, magical and lorelike.
’And for them, our world and dimension now ranked at the top of their “Best Places to Live, Work, Play, and Eat” list. Unfortunately, the “eat” part often included humans. Why all the attention? From what I understand, it all started with two little words: indoor plumbing’ SPI is the agency tasked with keeping all things supernatural on the down low from the delicate humans and Makenna is their newest employee. If her first night on the job is any indication things will never be dull.
Makenna and new partner Ian are running around a bunch of strip clubs looking for a bachelor party consisting of five horney leprechauns one of whom is a prince who slipped their security detail.
“Obviously putting five male agents in a strip club and telling them they can’t look proves that there’s been a training oversight on the discipline side because the prince and his boys flew the coop before the first G-string dropped.”
I had so much fun on this little trip. The writing is hilarious and there was just enough sexy in it to make my eyes perk up, I do love a good sexual tension tease. I was not expecting such a fun story and this had just enough of everything to grab my hook line and sinker so I plan on continuing on with the series.
≺✽ The Beast of Blackmoor ★★★★ ✽≻
I’d never heard of Milla Vane before this anthology so I have no idea what any of her other work is like but I will be sure to look for her in the future.
Beast of Blackmoor is a high fantasy love story *gasp* I know there aren’t a lot of those out there. My friend Gavin best summed this up as a porn version of Conan. Kavik, desperate for revenge asked help of a goddess. When she refused he defiled her temple and was cursed to be forsaken and watch all those he cared for suffer until the Woman in Red ended him. Note to self: Do not anger goddesses, woman scorned and all that.
Mala is on a quest for a goddess to tame the Beast of Blackmoor in order to gain the warriors she needs to save her homeland. Both warriors are strong in both body and will so which one of these alphas will win and bring the other to heel.
Just a little warning the sexy times (I was not expecting them so big bonus) are a little harsh. It fits with the story line, these are warriors and not scribes but still very dominance alpha in nature and slightly crude. I never have issues with sex scenes like this but it might be rougher than some like.
Overall the plot and story line are pretty well flushed out for a novella and I wouldn’t mind learning more about the evil in the land the demons that seem to be infecting creatures or the big big bad that they haven’t encountered yet.
Milla Vane, I’ll be watching you as High Fantasy Romance could be my Achilles Heel.
March 23, 2015
Buddy read with
Eilonwy
,
Evgeny
,
Asya
,
Monty Cupcake
,
Sarah
,
Robin
,
Gavin
and a bunch of lovely people from the
Ilona Andrews Addicts(IAA)
group.
This goes only for Ilona Andrews’ novella Magic Steals .
4 STARS
Not very strong 4 stars but still 4. I liked it more than the previous Jim & Dali novella. Short review to come tomorrow.
This goes only for Ilona Andrews’ novella Magic Steals .
4 STARS
Not very strong 4 stars but still 4. I liked it more than the previous Jim & Dali novella. Short review to come tomorrow.
March 26, 2015
This anthology was a worthwhile read. Two of the stories were quite good, one was like nothing else you will ever read, and the flop of the collection was a fairly standard PNR. Here is my thoughts on the individual novellas:
Secrets at Midnight by Nalini Singh
I had been looking forward to trying one of Nalini Singh's books for a while and figured this novella was the perfect place to sample a story from her Psy-Changeling series. Unfortunately I was not impressed. This was a standard PNR story of the sort that it feels like I've read a 100 times before. I do not want to be too critical because shifters have always been my least favorite paranormal creature and I think I'm just totally burned out and sick of reading about couples who "bond" with each other before even meeting!!!. I want less of this destiny crap and more of couples falling in love because they are actually interested in each other.
The story did have a few positives. Bastian and Kirby, the couple for this romance, were actually pretty likable, they made a decent couple, and Singh had an engaging enough writing style. Unfortunately the rest of the story outside of the romance was a bit dull. Kirby was coming to grips with the fact that she was a shifter, a fact that was unknown to her as her parents died in an accident when she was young and she was raised in the foster system. Once it becomes apparent she is a shifter her parents Pack is located.
This novella featured another pet peeve of mine. Foster carers painted as monsters. Why is it that all fictional foster carers turn out to be abusers or, if you are really lucky, just neglecters? One would think your local authorities recruited new carers at the exit gates of prisons if your only experience of them comes via reading.
I'm not feeling very enthusiastic about reading the Psy-Changeling series after reading this one. I might give Nalini Singh one more chance to impress me with her Guild Hunter series, but only because I'm a kindly soul.
Rating: 2.5 stars.
Audio Note: Angela Dawe gave a decent enough performance of this bit sounded less enthused about reading this story than she did reading the Ilona Andrews one.
Magic Steals by Ilona Andrews
This is the second Kate Daniels novella featuring Dali as the POV character and it is even better than the first. While reading the main series I was not much of a fan of Dali or Jim, but this novella has done a fantastic job of fleshing out both characters and giving them a bit of depth.
In this tale we follow Dali, and Jim, as she uses her mystical powers to track down a missing person and thwart a black curse. I found it quite entertaining. The mystery was interesting and there was plenty of hilarious moments along the way. It helped that I loved the way the relationship between Jim and Dali developed. It is great to finally get a couple who work as a team without being in constant conflict with each other!
Rating: 4 stars.
Audio Note: This was narrated by Angela Dawe rather than Renee Raudman, the regular KD series narrator, and that was for the best as I enjoyed Dawe's interpretations of Jim and Dali a lot better.
Lucky Charms by Lisa Shearin
This was the shortest of the novellas in the collection. It was a humorous and fun read.
Makenna Fraser's first assignment at her new job as a Seer in the SPI is to locate a leprechaun stag party, who gave their last protection detail the slip at a strip club, and return them to the Seelie Court before they are captured by agents of the Unseelie Court. Hilarity, and a hint of romance, ensues as Mak encounters all sorts of paranormal creatures along the way.
This was a great intro and advert for Shearin's SPI Files series. Which I'll definitely be reading at some future point.
Rating: 4 stars.
Audio Note: Angela Dawe gave another decent performance with this one. She got the tone and the humor of the story.
The Beast of Blackmoor by Milla Vane
I have no idea what to say about ths one. If Conan the Barbarian was a porn flick instead of an action movie then this would be pretty close to being the novelization!!!
The world building and the non-romance parts of the story were pretty intriguing. The romantic aspects of the story were spectacularly awful. I shook my head in disbelief at some of the cringe-worthy dialogue, and I'm a hardened reader of PNR and historical romance!
I'm all for romances in a fantasy setting so I do not want to be too critical and this novella had enough plus points that I'll probably try another of the authors series. I just hope I enjoy any romances in those series a bit more.
Rating: 3 stars.
Audio Note: Angela Dawe has narrated all the books in this collection and just like with the others she did a decent job here:)
Secrets at Midnight by Nalini Singh
I had been looking forward to trying one of Nalini Singh's books for a while and figured this novella was the perfect place to sample a story from her Psy-Changeling series. Unfortunately I was not impressed. This was a standard PNR story of the sort that it feels like I've read a 100 times before. I do not want to be too critical because shifters have always been my least favorite paranormal creature and I think I'm just totally burned out and sick of reading about couples who "bond" with each other before even meeting!!!. I want less of this destiny crap and more of couples falling in love because they are actually interested in each other.
The story did have a few positives. Bastian and Kirby, the couple for this romance, were actually pretty likable, they made a decent couple, and Singh had an engaging enough writing style. Unfortunately the rest of the story outside of the romance was a bit dull. Kirby was coming to grips with the fact that she was a shifter, a fact that was unknown to her as her parents died in an accident when she was young and she was raised in the foster system. Once it becomes apparent she is a shifter her parents Pack is located.
This novella featured another pet peeve of mine. Foster carers painted as monsters. Why is it that all fictional foster carers turn out to be abusers or, if you are really lucky, just neglecters? One would think your local authorities recruited new carers at the exit gates of prisons if your only experience of them comes via reading.
I'm not feeling very enthusiastic about reading the Psy-Changeling series after reading this one. I might give Nalini Singh one more chance to impress me with her Guild Hunter series, but only because I'm a kindly soul.
Rating: 2.5 stars.
Audio Note: Angela Dawe gave a decent enough performance of this bit sounded less enthused about reading this story than she did reading the Ilona Andrews one.
Magic Steals by Ilona Andrews
This is the second Kate Daniels novella featuring Dali as the POV character and it is even better than the first. While reading the main series I was not much of a fan of Dali or Jim, but this novella has done a fantastic job of fleshing out both characters and giving them a bit of depth.
In this tale we follow Dali, and Jim, as she uses her mystical powers to track down a missing person and thwart a black curse. I found it quite entertaining. The mystery was interesting and there was plenty of hilarious moments along the way. It helped that I loved the way the relationship between Jim and Dali developed. It is great to finally get a couple who work as a team without being in constant conflict with each other!
Rating: 4 stars.
Audio Note: This was narrated by Angela Dawe rather than Renee Raudman, the regular KD series narrator, and that was for the best as I enjoyed Dawe's interpretations of Jim and Dali a lot better.
Lucky Charms by Lisa Shearin
This was the shortest of the novellas in the collection. It was a humorous and fun read.
Makenna Fraser's first assignment at her new job as a Seer in the SPI is to locate a leprechaun stag party, who gave their last protection detail the slip at a strip club, and return them to the Seelie Court before they are captured by agents of the Unseelie Court. Hilarity, and a hint of romance, ensues as Mak encounters all sorts of paranormal creatures along the way.
This was a great intro and advert for Shearin's SPI Files series. Which I'll definitely be reading at some future point.
Rating: 4 stars.
Audio Note: Angela Dawe gave another decent performance with this one. She got the tone and the humor of the story.
The Beast of Blackmoor by Milla Vane
I have no idea what to say about ths one. If Conan the Barbarian was a porn flick instead of an action movie then this would be pretty close to being the novelization!!!
The world building and the non-romance parts of the story were pretty intriguing. The romantic aspects of the story were spectacularly awful. I shook my head in disbelief at some of the cringe-worthy dialogue, and I'm a hardened reader of PNR and historical romance!
I'm all for romances in a fantasy setting so I do not want to be too critical and this novella had enough plus points that I'll probably try another of the authors series. I just hope I enjoy any romances in those series a bit more.
Rating: 3 stars.
Audio Note: Angela Dawe has narrated all the books in this collection and just like with the others she did a decent job here:)
November 26, 2014
Oh, my god, this book was one giant, crazy whac-a-mole!
Leopard roared...
Jaguar roared...
Barbarian warlord roared AND stumped his chest...
and Shearin story brings an old, familiar debate:
"Do you think if I shoot leprechaun with my gun, lucky charms will explode everywhere?"* ;)
1.Nalini Singh - "Secrets at Midnight" - 4,5 stars
"This is Bastien. Don't let him charm you - next thing you know, you'll be naked."
If you are familiar with Nalini's Psy/Changeling world, Bastien is not a new name for you. He is one of Mercy's beloved brothers she feels very protective of, but he also has to endure the love of other Smith woman: he has to suffer through endless parade of possible girlfriends his mother is throwing at him...until he catches a scent of his mate. :D
You remember how we were whining for Psy/Psy couple for 11 books and then Nalini gave us two in a row with third one coming up? Man, I love them Arrows with a strength of 1000 burning suns, but Bastien reminded me how fun and flirty changelings are! I mean,from the moment they meet their intended hea it's like one, long, sensual foreplay until they finally hook up. Skin privileges, ftw!
Ok, this story is definitely more enjoyable if you read series before, but you can read it without being completely confused. Big, overreaching arc of turmoil in Psy world is briefly mentioned but it's not adding anything to the story. In that case, it will read like nice, neatly wrapped shifter story and that's not bad. But for fans, this is such a treat since there are so many of these nice little fan favorite cameos- I was personally delighted with Teijan appearance and I really want to read his story now- If anyone can pull that, Nalini can. ;)
2.Ilona Andrews - "Magic Steals" - 5 stars
First novella featuring Jim and Dali (Magic Dreams) is my favorite novella set in this world. :) But, let's face it, in a series where side characters are almost as loved as main characters, can any side story end up being not worth your time?
No, and you will not be disappointed with this one either. ;)
So, first things first.. with all other stories in anthologies, there is a chance you can enjoy it without being familiar with characters before. With this one, I pull a line and say no.**
For fans of series, this story is set between book #6 and book #7, so if you were expecting to read Jim's meltdown about news of his new job..we will have to wait some more. (But, it's going to be epic because Jim is in such a good place right now...;) )
So, Dali and Jim are dating, they are doing all those things like... dinners and lingerie has being bought and stuff... but her mother and her close family of 30+ relatives has no idea about it.:)
We know that Dali is very special shifter: she is a White Tiger and she has her own magic, magic tied to her cultural identity and legacy. So, when her mother brings a friend whose grandmother is in trouble, Dali has to look into it. And Jim volunteered to accompany her. Mystery was completely whacked- villain's MO is not hard to guess, but motive behind it is just crazy. But that's all in background; characters and relationship development is a real story here..This novella has so many great scenes between Dali and Jim, between Dali and her mom; so many great lines.:)
I really like Dali. In a group of badass female and male characters, Dali is unusual because her magic is primarily non combative. She may be be blind and vegetarian cat without fighting skills,but her strength lies in her impressive knowledge on mythology and her smarts, and this is something that was made clear to us in book #3 and in first novella. This Dali is still present here, but what I liked about this story is that it showed us that Dali still is a shifter and therefore dangerous. If she can't curse you or outwit you, she can still be a threat. Of course, this is something Jim was instrumental in making her come to that conclusion herself, but I loved it- it was such a boost to her confidence and exactly what she needs taking her future role in consideration.
But Jim guys! Jim is just swoon-worthy and sexy and flirty here. Let's all cherish this novella for rare treasure that it is...Jim actually smiled. and it was not one of his "you-are-dead" showing-teeth smiles.
This was Extra Virgin, 100% pure smile. :)
3.Lisa Shearin - "Lucky Charms" - 3 stars
Ok this is a prequel to The Grendel Affair, new Shearin UF series. It's a series about Makenna "Mac" Fraser, who is working for SPI (that's like FBI, but for supernaturals) as a seer, which allows her to see through any glamour and this story is actually her first assignment for SPI,as she is sent with her new team to collect five rogue leprechauns.
I personally didn't enjoy TGA, because it looked to me like a UF version of Stephanie Plum, with heroine who keeps stumbling on stuff by accident and is just too silly. It's same here: these leprechauns are like giant, raging balls of hormones with confused sexual identity, so silliness is a given, but I did have fun his story. Maybe this style is working in shorter format for me? ;)
4.Milla Vane - "The Beast of Blackmoore" - 4 stars
I am still giggling like a lunatic over this one.
I don't even know how to describe this!!!
There is a tormented barbarian warlord who pissed of gods(heh!) and there is a female, badass holy warrior who is on a quest "bestowed on her by great goddess". And they fall in love from the moment they laid eyes on each other, "covered in blood and rotting stench of devil's beasts they slayed." And they have this crazy and really smutty romance with funniest sex scene I read in a while.
Guys, there are leather loincloths!
And swords and armors!
And they slay demons by dozens!
It's majestic!
And cracastic and cheesy and hilarious.
And outrageous!
and completely insane.
I swear, while I was reading, I saw these scenes so clearly in my head, in such vivid colors like it was directed by Dino De Laurentiis himself.
Milla Vane is, of course, a pen name of fabulous Meljean Brook and I completely understand now why she got to write Red Sonja.
She is the woman for the job.
I bow to you, Meljean, you are the queen of outrageous entertainment.
*****************************
So, let's repeat: which one to read?
*I will never pass a chance to quote Alucard, HUA.
**
April 14, 2019
Magic Steals(Kate Daniels #6.5) by Ilona Andrews
White tiger Dali and jaguar Jim
The book deals with three topics:
1. How Dali perceives herself. Dali has a low self-esteem. She thinks she is not pretty enough, not woman enough, not strong enough. Just not enough for someone like Jim. Jim will help her understand what a unique, beautiful shifter woman she is.
2. How the relationship between Dali and Jim proceeds. Until now they still have not made love, they have not talked about commitment and mating. Jim wants more. Dali is afraid. Jim will win, because he knows better.
3. The disappearance of a sweet Indonesian grandmother. Jim and Dali will battle with monsters from three continents, with zombies, with a horrible curse, even with themselves. Great mystery and adventure!
White tiger Dali and jaguar Jim
The book deals with three topics:
1. How Dali perceives herself. Dali has a low self-esteem. She thinks she is not pretty enough, not woman enough, not strong enough. Just not enough for someone like Jim. Jim will help her understand what a unique, beautiful shifter woman she is.
2. How the relationship between Dali and Jim proceeds. Until now they still have not made love, they have not talked about commitment and mating. Jim wants more. Dali is afraid. Jim will win, because he knows better.
3. The disappearance of a sweet Indonesian grandmother. Jim and Dali will battle with monsters from three continents, with zombies, with a horrible curse, even with themselves. Great mystery and adventure!
May 21, 2017
Rating for Magic Steals only.
This is the second short story with Jim and Dali <3 They are so adorable and funny together. The curses/Dali's powers/Asian mythology (which we had more of in the first book)
is so fascinating to me. And Dali's mom cracks me up.
This is the second short story with Jim and Dali <3 They are so adorable and funny together. The curses/Dali's powers/Asian mythology (which we had more of in the first book)
is so fascinating to me. And Dali's mom cracks me up.
April 22, 2018
Night Shift is one of the best anthologies I've read in a while with contributions from three powerhouse writers in their respective genres.
It says something when the "worst" story in a collection is from Nalini Singh. Secrets at Midnight is her contribution and it's pretty boring. Leopard shifter, Bastien Smith, has scented his mate but quickly finds out that not all is well with her. Singh can write some compelling short stories, so I was surprised at how she seemed to have sleepwalked through this one. The conflict is non-existent and it's painfully obvious what is going on with his mate from the minute Bastien starts talking about her. If I had to rate this one on an individual basis it would be a 3/5.
Magic Steals by Ilona Andrews was the reason I had been so anxious to get my hands on the anthology. The story takes place in the Kate Daniels world and follows the characters Jim and Dali who were featured in Magic Dreams, which I had adored. This story completely lived up to my high expectations. Dali is approached to look into the case of a missing person and Jim tags along for the ride. It was great to see Dali take the lead and I loved getting a little more of these two working together. I'm still holding out hope that we'll eventually get a full-length novel featuring Jim and Dali, as they're just fantastic. 5/5
Lucky Charms by Lisa Shearin was the only author in the collection who was new to me. Makenna Frazier is a seer who gets pulled into a high profile case involving leprechauns on her very first day of work. I'm guessing this is a prequel to Shearin's Urban Fantasy series starring Makenna because the story works to set-up a much more involved plot. All in all, this was a good contribution and I was intrigued enough by the characters to potentially read the first book in the series. 4/5
The Beast of Blackmoor by Milla Vane (aka Meljean Brook) was my second favorite contribution in the anthology. Mala is on a quest for her goddess to tame the beast of Blackmoor in a corrupt kingdom dominated by a tyrant. I really loved how different interpretations of words and personal perceptions influenced this short story. I'm not a huge fan of medieval settings but this one worked for me. I'll be looking forward to the first full length book set in the world. 4.5/5
All in all a great anthology that is well worth the money.
It says something when the "worst" story in a collection is from Nalini Singh. Secrets at Midnight is her contribution and it's pretty boring. Leopard shifter, Bastien Smith, has scented his mate but quickly finds out that not all is well with her. Singh can write some compelling short stories, so I was surprised at how she seemed to have sleepwalked through this one. The conflict is non-existent and it's painfully obvious what is going on with his mate from the minute Bastien starts talking about her. If I had to rate this one on an individual basis it would be a 3/5.
Magic Steals by Ilona Andrews was the reason I had been so anxious to get my hands on the anthology. The story takes place in the Kate Daniels world and follows the characters Jim and Dali who were featured in Magic Dreams, which I had adored. This story completely lived up to my high expectations. Dali is approached to look into the case of a missing person and Jim tags along for the ride. It was great to see Dali take the lead and I loved getting a little more of these two working together. I'm still holding out hope that we'll eventually get a full-length novel featuring Jim and Dali, as they're just fantastic. 5/5
Lucky Charms by Lisa Shearin was the only author in the collection who was new to me. Makenna Frazier is a seer who gets pulled into a high profile case involving leprechauns on her very first day of work. I'm guessing this is a prequel to Shearin's Urban Fantasy series starring Makenna because the story works to set-up a much more involved plot. All in all, this was a good contribution and I was intrigued enough by the characters to potentially read the first book in the series. 4/5
The Beast of Blackmoor by Milla Vane (aka Meljean Brook) was my second favorite contribution in the anthology. Mala is on a quest for her goddess to tame the beast of Blackmoor in a corrupt kingdom dominated by a tyrant. I really loved how different interpretations of words and personal perceptions influenced this short story. I'm not a huge fan of medieval settings but this one worked for me. I'll be looking forward to the first full length book set in the world. 4.5/5
All in all a great anthology that is well worth the money.
November 22, 2014
4.5 Stars
Usually, any given anthology I come across will have just one or two stories I am interested in. But with this one, I hit the motherload, with stories from three of my very favorite authors: Nalini Singh, Ilona Andrews, and Meljean Brook (writing as Milla Vane). I didn’t love every story equally, but overall, I think UF/ PNR readers will get enough bang for their buck.
Secrets at Midnight: I am such a fan of Nalini Singh and her Psy-Changeling world, but this novella was not a hit for me. It had some good things going on, but there were some parts that really fell flat.
The hero is Bastien, one of Mercy’s brothers. He wasn’t really looking to settle down, but once he encountered his mate’s scent, he knew he had to find her. He tracked her for days, before meeting her in a totally convenient and contrived happenstance. She seems to be human, but it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out she is part changeling. Kirby and Bastien fall for one another as they work to solve the mysteries of her heritage and her past.
I found this story to be fairly predictable. But my biggest issue was with the dialogue between Kirby and Bastien. They try to be sexy and saucy, but it just didn't have Singh's usual magic. Not sexy at all.
Where the story is at its best is when Kirby finally finds herself and gets to interact with her family. That actually made me a little misty. But the rest? Not so much. It wasn't bad, but I have loved other stories from her much more.
Magic Steals: Jim and Dali. How do I love thee? This is such an understated, wonderful couple. Ever since we first got a taste of the Jim and Dali connection in their (way too short) "Magic Dreams" novella, I have beenimpatiently waiting for a chance to see them together again. This story satisfied me in every way. It follows Dali, with Jim at her side, as she uses her special Indonesian mojo to fight an evil manifestation targeting folks who share a common business building. The magic plot, though, is only a vehicle to show us Dali in her element –and how she and Jim finally stop tiptoeing around their relationship.
I love how insecure Dali is and how we see her utter adoration of Jim. She views him so differently than Kate does, but through her 1st person POV, we see such a different man. This Jim is awesome. He is so good to her. Watching her finally realize the depths of his feelings is so gratifying. And the end is perfect. (Plus… sex.) Made of win.
Lucky Charms: This is the only story in the group by an author I have never read before, but I really enjoyed this set up for Lisa Shearin’s SPI Files urban fantasy series. It follows a seer named Mac who is giving up her civilian life to join a supernatural policing agency. Her first assignment is helping to track down a leprechaun prince and his buddies who escaped a protection detail at a bachelor party. The story is funny and fast paced with an engaging cast of character. I will definitely be checking out The Grendel Affair.
The Beast of Blackmoor: I love Meljean Brook and I was totally psyched for this barbarian “beast” story. It was pretty dark and I’m not entirely sure how I feel about it. The story centered on Kavik, a warrior forsaken by the goddess he offended in his youth –and Mala, a champion of the same goddess, on a quest for her favor. Mala’s mission puts her squarely in Kavik’s path and it doesn’t take long to discover that their destinies are intertwined. There is some pretty heavy stuff here: rape, torture, and the like. Some parts seemed pretty bleak. But the sexy times were very hot and the HEA was satisfying. — I leave the story conflicted, but affected, so take that as you will.
Overall, I think is definitely an anthology worth checking out!
Rating: B+
*ARC provided by author for review
Usually, any given anthology I come across will have just one or two stories I am interested in. But with this one, I hit the motherload, with stories from three of my very favorite authors: Nalini Singh, Ilona Andrews, and Meljean Brook (writing as Milla Vane). I didn’t love every story equally, but overall, I think UF/ PNR readers will get enough bang for their buck.
Secrets at Midnight: I am such a fan of Nalini Singh and her Psy-Changeling world, but this novella was not a hit for me. It had some good things going on, but there were some parts that really fell flat.
The hero is Bastien, one of Mercy’s brothers. He wasn’t really looking to settle down, but once he encountered his mate’s scent, he knew he had to find her. He tracked her for days, before meeting her in a totally convenient and contrived happenstance. She seems to be human, but it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out she is part changeling. Kirby and Bastien fall for one another as they work to solve the mysteries of her heritage and her past.
I found this story to be fairly predictable. But my biggest issue was with the dialogue between Kirby and Bastien. They try to be sexy and saucy, but it just didn't have Singh's usual magic. Not sexy at all.
Where the story is at its best is when Kirby finally finds herself and gets to interact with her family. That actually made me a little misty. But the rest? Not so much. It wasn't bad, but I have loved other stories from her much more.
Magic Steals: Jim and Dali. How do I love thee? This is such an understated, wonderful couple. Ever since we first got a taste of the Jim and Dali connection in their (way too short) "Magic Dreams" novella, I have been
I love how insecure Dali is and how we see her utter adoration of Jim. She views him so differently than Kate does, but through her 1st person POV, we see such a different man. This Jim is awesome. He is so good to her. Watching her finally realize the depths of his feelings is so gratifying. And the end is perfect. (Plus… sex.) Made of win.
Lucky Charms: This is the only story in the group by an author I have never read before, but I really enjoyed this set up for Lisa Shearin’s SPI Files urban fantasy series. It follows a seer named Mac who is giving up her civilian life to join a supernatural policing agency. Her first assignment is helping to track down a leprechaun prince and his buddies who escaped a protection detail at a bachelor party. The story is funny and fast paced with an engaging cast of character. I will definitely be checking out The Grendel Affair.
The Beast of Blackmoor: I love Meljean Brook and I was totally psyched for this barbarian “beast” story. It was pretty dark and I’m not entirely sure how I feel about it. The story centered on Kavik, a warrior forsaken by the goddess he offended in his youth –and Mala, a champion of the same goddess, on a quest for her favor. Mala’s mission puts her squarely in Kavik’s path and it doesn’t take long to discover that their destinies are intertwined. There is some pretty heavy stuff here: rape, torture, and the like. Some parts seemed pretty bleak. But the sexy times were very hot and the HEA was satisfying. — I leave the story conflicted, but affected, so take that as you will.
Overall, I think is definitely an anthology worth checking out!
Rating: B+
*ARC provided by author for review
August 26, 2015
Rating is for the Ilona Andrews and Nalini Singh novellas only.
Magic Steals by Ilona Andrews -- 4 Stars
Dali and Jim look into the disappearance of a friend's grandmother.
I love Dali and Jim and I love when we get novellas about the two of them. Jim is the scary badass head of security for the Atlanta pack and takes his job very seriously. I like seeing another side of him when he's with Dali. He lets his guard down and is even playful. Who knew Jim could smile without the threat of imminent death being attached to it?
Secrets at Midnight by Nalini Singh -- 2 Stars
I never really cared about getting a story about Bastien and this novella didn't change my mind. I found both MCs to be pretty boring.
Magic Steals by Ilona Andrews -- 4 Stars
Dali and Jim look into the disappearance of a friend's grandmother.
I love Dali and Jim and I love when we get novellas about the two of them. Jim is the scary badass head of security for the Atlanta pack and takes his job very seriously. I like seeing another side of him when he's with Dali. He lets his guard down and is even playful. Who knew Jim could smile without the threat of imminent death being attached to it?
Secrets at Midnight by Nalini Singh -- 2 Stars
I never really cared about getting a story about Bastien and this novella didn't change my mind. I found both MCs to be pretty boring.
November 12, 2023
Magic Steals
"What's the deal with you?" Jim asked.
I'd been thinking about the zombie fight. "Nothing."
"I have three sisters," Jim reminded me. "I know what nothing means."
"What does it mean, Mr. Female Expert?"
"It means you're upset about something, it's been bothering you, but you don't want to bring it up because you're not sure you're up for the conversation that might follow. Sometimes it also means I am supposed to magically guess why you're upset."
Dali
"Ew." I waved my spatula. "Please keep your carnivore details to yourself . . ."
She's not exactly my favorite female character in the Kate Daniels universe, but she is the White Tiger, in all her self-deprecating glory. If she hadn't been pining over Jim that much and had a tiny bit more confidence, she would've been great to read about. As it is, her mother stole the spotlight.
Jim
"At first he didn't want to tell us, and then Jim asked him if he was left- or right-handed. The bodyguard asked why and Jim told him that he would break the other arm first, because he wasn't a complete bastard. The bodyguard folded."
Jim is actually a mushy, sweet guy, and I guess I was disappointed. Don't get me wrong, he was really nice and I completely agree with everything he said to Dali, but I feel like he only had to undergo this personality change because Dali needed a man who would constantly reassure her. 3 stars
Secrets at Midnight
Won't be reading this one.
Lucky Charms
"It was four in the morning. I was in a stolen bakery delivery truck that'd been totaled by three gargoyles. In the truck with me were two hungover elves, a pair of stoned leprechauns with the munchies, a naked Russian werewolf, and a hot partner, who was actually more of a bodyguard, in a race agains a goblin dark mage to retrieve a leprechaun prince with a tracking chip embedded in his left ass cheek."
When a book starts with such action and a whole cast of supernatural creatures, it's kind of a guarantee that it's going to be awesome. And awesome it was.
I want a full-length book for this! 4 stars
Ian
"If it's that exclusive, how are we getting in?"
"My undercover alter ego has a membership."
Of course he does.
Yasha
"Yasha seemed to be nice. Though as with all werewolves, I imagined that changed during "that time of the month."
The Beast of Blackmoor
Although the writing of this book was dry and sometimes confusing, I still thought it had some potential. It could've been an epic tale about a man who had it all slowly losing everything because of a woman - and yea, because he pissed in the offering bowl of a goddess. Sadly, this book was nothing of the sort. This was Xena: Warrior Princess meets really bad paranormal romance.
"She couldn’t believe that the goddess had meant her to love a man, and then ask her to endure as he shredded her heart whenever his fears threatened him. He’d thoughtlessly, deliberately hurt her. She was not sorry for walking away."
But don't worry, after she gets together with the warrior whose name is so unimportant that even the MC doesn't use it, the goddess accepts her again.
Yeah, this was just bad. 1.5 stars
"What's the deal with you?" Jim asked.
I'd been thinking about the zombie fight. "Nothing."
"I have three sisters," Jim reminded me. "I know what nothing means."
"What does it mean, Mr. Female Expert?"
"It means you're upset about something, it's been bothering you, but you don't want to bring it up because you're not sure you're up for the conversation that might follow. Sometimes it also means I am supposed to magically guess why you're upset."
Dali
"Ew." I waved my spatula. "Please keep your carnivore details to yourself . . ."
She's not exactly my favorite female character in the Kate Daniels universe, but she is the White Tiger, in all her self-deprecating glory. If she hadn't been pining over Jim that much and had a tiny bit more confidence, she would've been great to read about. As it is, her mother stole the spotlight.
Jim
"At first he didn't want to tell us, and then Jim asked him if he was left- or right-handed. The bodyguard asked why and Jim told him that he would break the other arm first, because he wasn't a complete bastard. The bodyguard folded."
Jim is actually a mushy, sweet guy, and I guess I was disappointed. Don't get me wrong, he was really nice and I completely agree with everything he said to Dali, but I feel like he only had to undergo this personality change because Dali needed a man who would constantly reassure her. 3 stars
Secrets at Midnight
Won't be reading this one.
Lucky Charms
"It was four in the morning. I was in a stolen bakery delivery truck that'd been totaled by three gargoyles. In the truck with me were two hungover elves, a pair of stoned leprechauns with the munchies, a naked Russian werewolf, and a hot partner, who was actually more of a bodyguard, in a race agains a goblin dark mage to retrieve a leprechaun prince with a tracking chip embedded in his left ass cheek."
When a book starts with such action and a whole cast of supernatural creatures, it's kind of a guarantee that it's going to be awesome. And awesome it was.
I want a full-length book for this! 4 stars
Ian
"If it's that exclusive, how are we getting in?"
"My undercover alter ego has a membership."
Of course he does.
Yasha
"Yasha seemed to be nice. Though as with all werewolves, I imagined that changed during "that time of the month."
The Beast of Blackmoor
Although the writing of this book was dry and sometimes confusing, I still thought it had some potential. It could've been an epic tale about a man who had it all slowly losing everything because of a woman - and yea, because he pissed in the offering bowl of a goddess. Sadly, this book was nothing of the sort. This was Xena: Warrior Princess meets really bad paranormal romance.
"She couldn’t believe that the goddess had meant her to love a man, and then ask her to endure as he shredded her heart whenever his fears threatened him. He’d thoughtlessly, deliberately hurt her. She was not sorry for walking away."
But don't worry, after she gets together with the warrior whose name is so unimportant that even the MC doesn't use it, the goddess accepts her again.
Yeah, this was just bad. 1.5 stars
November 27, 2014
Spoilers
**Only read Ilona Andrews and Nalini Singh's contributions.
SECRETS AT MIDNIGHT: 2/5 stars
Didn't enjoy this it was super predictable, the romance was based on nothing but insta-lust/love, and the hero and heroine were generic and cliched, there was nothing endearing about them whatsoever.
Bastien was the typical cocky-slutty-hero and Kirby was a Mary Sue with no personality, their romance was so trite. It felt like I'd already read their story before because the characters/relationship dynamics were the same as every other PNR.
Also, why was Kirby a virgin? It made no sense, she may not have known she was a changeling but that's exactly what she was deep down. It's been established that changelings enjoy intimacy and lots of sex when they're teenagers/in their early twenties yet somehow 24 year old Kirby remained a virgin despite being a changeling. Her not being fully manifested didn't mean she was any less of one, she should have been having sex just like any other changeling. Her virginity was so contrived and nonsensical, and written that way just so she could be 'pure' or some bullshit.
Then there was Kirby's mandatory tragic past, whenever she thought about her past or talked about it to Bastien it made me roll my eyes. Was her being an orphan and being oh so lonely meant to magically make her more interesting or sympathetic? If anything it did the opposite.
How stupid was Kirby's dad not giving his pack/parents details about his mate and daughter? He didn't tell them their names, their DOB, their whereabouts. Because of his stupidity Kirby grew up an orphan and his grandparents didn't get to raise her. Ugh, he was such a twit.
I did enjoy getting to catch up a little with other characters from the series, also the writing wasn't as embellished and over the top compared to the last few Nalini novels.
MAGIC STEALS: 4/5 stars
Loved Jim and Dali's story. They were so cute together and it was fun getting to 'see' a softer side of Jim.
I enjoyed reading about Dali's magic and her role in the pack and Indonesian community, she was just as badass as Jim, they made a surprisingly good team. The mystery and investigation of who was attacking all those business owners was entertaining, but I was far more interested in Jim/Dali's relationship and the back and forth they had going on than the main mystery.
I was glad Jim and Dali both had normal families and upbringings, there was no hidden inner pain or cliched tragedies in their lives. Jim/Dali talking about their families and interacting with them made both characters seem more real and interesting. I absolutely loved Dali's mum, their relationship was funny and sweet.
One thing I wasn't impressed with was Dali calling herself blind when the only visual issues she seemed to have was needing to wear thick glasses, her vision with her glasses was more than satisfactory - she didn't have any blind spots or problems with detail or long distance. Nothing written in the story indicated her having low vision or severe sight issues. If she was meant to actually be partially sighted then it should have reflected in the character/writing.
**Only read Ilona Andrews and Nalini Singh's contributions.
SECRETS AT MIDNIGHT: 2/5 stars
Didn't enjoy this it was super predictable, the romance was based on nothing but insta-lust/love, and the hero and heroine were generic and cliched, there was nothing endearing about them whatsoever.
Bastien was the typical cocky-slutty-hero and Kirby was a Mary Sue with no personality, their romance was so trite. It felt like I'd already read their story before because the characters/relationship dynamics were the same as every other PNR.
Also, why was Kirby a virgin? It made no sense, she may not have known she was a changeling but that's exactly what she was deep down. It's been established that changelings enjoy intimacy and lots of sex when they're teenagers/in their early twenties yet somehow 24 year old Kirby remained a virgin despite being a changeling. Her not being fully manifested didn't mean she was any less of one, she should have been having sex just like any other changeling. Her virginity was so contrived and nonsensical, and written that way just so she could be 'pure' or some bullshit.
Then there was Kirby's mandatory tragic past, whenever she thought about her past or talked about it to Bastien it made me roll my eyes. Was her being an orphan and being oh so lonely meant to magically make her more interesting or sympathetic? If anything it did the opposite.
How stupid was Kirby's dad not giving his pack/parents details about his mate and daughter? He didn't tell them their names, their DOB, their whereabouts. Because of his stupidity Kirby grew up an orphan and his grandparents didn't get to raise her. Ugh, he was such a twit.
I did enjoy getting to catch up a little with other characters from the series, also the writing wasn't as embellished and over the top compared to the last few Nalini novels.
MAGIC STEALS: 4/5 stars
Loved Jim and Dali's story. They were so cute together and it was fun getting to 'see' a softer side of Jim.
I enjoyed reading about Dali's magic and her role in the pack and Indonesian community, she was just as badass as Jim, they made a surprisingly good team. The mystery and investigation of who was attacking all those business owners was entertaining, but I was far more interested in Jim/Dali's relationship and the back and forth they had going on than the main mystery.
I was glad Jim and Dali both had normal families and upbringings, there was no hidden inner pain or cliched tragedies in their lives. Jim/Dali talking about their families and interacting with them made both characters seem more real and interesting. I absolutely loved Dali's mum, their relationship was funny and sweet.
One thing I wasn't impressed with was Dali calling herself blind when the only visual issues she seemed to have was needing to wear thick glasses, her vision with her glasses was more than satisfactory - she didn't have any blind spots or problems with detail or long distance. Nothing written in the story indicated her having low vision or severe sight issues. If she was meant to actually be partially sighted then it should have reflected in the character/writing.
May 27, 2020
2020 Re-Read
My mission right now is to read from my own book shelves and to hopefully get to those books that have been lingering there, unread. But yesterday I felt the pull of this collection of romantic short stories and I didn't even try to resist. In these days of physical distancing, I felt the need to at least read about physical closeness.
My previous review pretty much says it all. If anything changed, it may have been that I appreciated Lisa Shearin's Lucky Charms even more. It can still make me smile.
Resistance was futile. I was assimilated.
ORIGINAL REVIEW:
This was a fun little collection of urban fantasy/paranormal romance fiction. I especially enjoyed the Ilona Andrews and the Lisa Shearin contributions. Their writings are consistently on target with my reading tastes. The Nalini Singh story is also exactly what one would expect from her, a little too skewed to the romance end of the scale for my reading taste, but her fans will undoubtedly get what they are looking for.
The interesting offering in my opinion is the Milla Vane story--shades of Robert E. Howard! This is Conan the Barbarian meets his Warrior Princess version and they struggle for supremacy! (Not that Howard wrote weak women--and the limitations of his time meant that he couldn’t detail their physical relationship in his stories the way Vane does). It’s obvious that Ms. Vane has appreciated Howard’s work and probably Fritz Leiber’s as well, classics of the sword & sorcery genre. The major shift is that this story is told from a strong female point of view--Mala decides what she is and isn’t willing to put up with from her Barbarian-to-be. It could have fallen flat, but for me it didn’t. But if sex on the page makes you uncomfortable, you will squirm while reading this gritty story. Mind you, if that makes you uncomfortable, you will not have made it this far in the book!
The Andrews story details the romance between Jim Shropshire and Dali Haurimau, in delightful fashion. I had never liked Jim all that much in the Kate Daniels series, but I’m due for a re-read in the near future and will see him quite differently now (and I will see Hugh D’Ambray differently after reading Iron and Magic).
The Lucky Charms story by Lisa Shearin is the introduction to her SPI Files series. It might have been fun to have read it before plunging into The Grendel Affair, but she didn’t write in any details that were crucial to understanding that first novel. (Completely unlike Patricia Briggs’ Alpha & Omega series, where if you missed the initial short story, you ended up confused as heck during Cry Wolf).
All in all, a pleasant and fun offering by four talented authors.
My mission right now is to read from my own book shelves and to hopefully get to those books that have been lingering there, unread. But yesterday I felt the pull of this collection of romantic short stories and I didn't even try to resist. In these days of physical distancing, I felt the need to at least read about physical closeness.
My previous review pretty much says it all. If anything changed, it may have been that I appreciated Lisa Shearin's Lucky Charms even more. It can still make me smile.
Resistance was futile. I was assimilated.
ORIGINAL REVIEW:
This was a fun little collection of urban fantasy/paranormal romance fiction. I especially enjoyed the Ilona Andrews and the Lisa Shearin contributions. Their writings are consistently on target with my reading tastes. The Nalini Singh story is also exactly what one would expect from her, a little too skewed to the romance end of the scale for my reading taste, but her fans will undoubtedly get what they are looking for.
The interesting offering in my opinion is the Milla Vane story--shades of Robert E. Howard! This is Conan the Barbarian meets his Warrior Princess version and they struggle for supremacy! (Not that Howard wrote weak women--and the limitations of his time meant that he couldn’t detail their physical relationship in his stories the way Vane does). It’s obvious that Ms. Vane has appreciated Howard’s work and probably Fritz Leiber’s as well, classics of the sword & sorcery genre. The major shift is that this story is told from a strong female point of view--Mala decides what she is and isn’t willing to put up with from her Barbarian-to-be. It could have fallen flat, but for me it didn’t. But if sex on the page makes you uncomfortable, you will squirm while reading this gritty story. Mind you, if that makes you uncomfortable, you will not have made it this far in the book!
The Andrews story details the romance between Jim Shropshire and Dali Haurimau, in delightful fashion. I had never liked Jim all that much in the Kate Daniels series, but I’m due for a re-read in the near future and will see him quite differently now (and I will see Hugh D’Ambray differently after reading Iron and Magic).
The Lucky Charms story by Lisa Shearin is the introduction to her SPI Files series. It might have been fun to have read it before plunging into The Grendel Affair, but she didn’t write in any details that were crucial to understanding that first novel. (Completely unlike Patricia Briggs’ Alpha & Omega series, where if you missed the initial short story, you ended up confused as heck during Cry Wolf).
All in all, a pleasant and fun offering by four talented authors.
March 30, 2015
I only read two of the novellas, so the rating is for these:
Magic Steals , by Ilona Andrews
Dali the white tiger shapeshifter struggles with low self-esteem and self-consciousness as she tries to adjust to being involved with huge, muscular alpha-Cat Jim the jaguar. Oh, and she solves a magical mystery, too. The relationship stuff was a little predictable but managed to round out both Dali's and Jim's personalities for me, and the magic and mystery were pretty interesting. Ilona Andrews never fails to amaze me with the breadth of their knowledge of mythology, and the creative and clever ways they put that knowledge to work in their stories. I give this novella four stars.
The Beast of Blackmoor , by Milla Vane
Mala has been promised the strength of 10,000 warriors to protect her land if she can complete a quest for the goddess Vela: tame the "beast of Blackmoor," also known as Kavik, a man who has been forsaken by the same goddess. And while she's at it, Mala also figures on taking care of a demon "tusker" (think nasty wild boar) that's been cursing the land and waters all around itself, and maybe knock off the corrupt and evil ruler of Blackmoor, as well. I really loved the mythology and worldbuilding in this story, especially the first half. Then it turned into a very explicit erotic romance, and a combination of insta-love (Mala), fated love (Kavik), and angst (both of them) over-rode the elements I'd found so intriguing. And, since it's a novella, the resolution to all of these plot threads ended up feeling a bit rushed. Overall, though, I loved the setting and imagination in this story, and I'll try a novel set in this world when one comes out. (Btw, Milla Vane turns out to be a high-fantasy pen-name for Meljean Brook, known for her urban fantasy.) I give this three and a half stars, rounded up.
Shelved as 'own-unread'
January 26, 2016I'm not fans of anthology, but...
NALINI SINGH +ILONA ANDREWS = WIN!!
Nalini's novella will feature Bastien, Mercy's lil brother. And Ilona's novella is a must read for me. Because I'm Indonesian, like Dali ;).
NALINI SINGH +ILONA ANDREWS = WIN!!
Nalini's novella will feature Bastien, Mercy's lil brother. And Ilona's novella is a must read for me. Because I'm Indonesian, like Dali ;).
May 27, 2016
Great little set of anthologies, 4 good complete feeling quick reads.A fan of short anthologies, Yoda is not.
I finished Secrets at Midnight, 3.0 stars - it was the typical short rushed feeling PNR. I liked the characters and would have loved to meet them in a full length read.he sex was so short I blinked and I they were done. WTH ? I wanted the good stuff. It did peek my interest in the series, I might squeeze it in this year or the next or at least the year after that
Magic Steals 4.5: I loved it. Jim is everything he should be and more. Dali, well I didn't like her much before this little short, now I adore her.
Lucky Charms 3.5 : This felt more urban fantasy, a bit grittier and i liked it. I am interested in the characters and their world I will look into this author's work more
The Beast of Blackmore 2.5: I liked it and I didn't. It was direct slam in your face action/sex and almost crude, and not in a sexy way. I don't know that I will read anything more form this author.
I finished Secrets at Midnight, 3.0 stars - it was the typical short rushed feeling PNR. I liked the characters and would have loved to meet them in a full length read.he sex was so short I blinked and I they were done. WTH ? I wanted the good stuff. It did peek my interest in the series, I might squeeze it in this year or the next or at least the year after that
Magic Steals 4.5: I loved it. Jim is everything he should be and more. Dali, well I didn't like her much before this little short, now I adore her.
Lucky Charms 3.5 : This felt more urban fantasy, a bit grittier and i liked it. I am interested in the characters and their world I will look into this author's work more
The Beast of Blackmore 2.5: I liked it and I didn't. It was direct slam in your face action/sex and almost crude, and not in a sexy way. I don't know that I will read anything more form this author.
February 19, 2015
3.5* for Andrews's Jim & Dali story. Love Dali and I like seeing the softer side of Jim the uber badass.
Tried to read the Nalini Singh story but just the first 5 pages bored me silly. Bastien and Kirby are mates but she seems to have a Big Secret that means he'll never ever love or accept her. Or something like that, I was skimming. Anyway...blah blah blah.
July 24, 2014
THIS IS FOR THE BARBARIANS PIECE BY MILLA VANE.
I DID NOT REALIZE HOW MUCH MY HEART LONGED FOR SOME GOOD, PULPY (AND TOTES SEXY) BARBARIAN ROMANCE. THIS NEEDS TO BE ITS OWN GENRE, STAT.
ALSO I HAVE NO IDEA WHY I'M DOING ALL CAPS BUT IT FEELS SO RIGHT. READ THIS SHIT, YO. IF NOTHING ELSE, FOR THE ORAL SEX IN THE BAR. SPOILER!
I DID NOT REALIZE HOW MUCH MY HEART LONGED FOR SOME GOOD, PULPY (AND TOTES SEXY) BARBARIAN ROMANCE. THIS NEEDS TO BE ITS OWN GENRE, STAT.
ALSO I HAVE NO IDEA WHY I'M DOING ALL CAPS BUT IT FEELS SO RIGHT. READ THIS SHIT, YO. IF NOTHING ELSE, FOR THE ORAL SEX IN THE BAR. SPOILER!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 2, 2020
1st Read - December 2014
2nd Read - July 2015
Original Review
I'll admit that the main reason I wanted to read this anthology was for the stories by Nalini Singh and Ilona Andrews, I'm a huge fan of both the Psy-Changeling and Kate Daniels series so of course I was eager to be able to dive back into both of those worlds. It was a great opportunity to try a couple of new series though and I have to say that I definitely want to read more from Lisa Shearin and Milla Vane in the future. I'm going to talk about each of these stories individually but I would just like to say that if, like me, you picked up the anthology for one or two authors it's definitely worth giving the other stories a chance too. All four novellas are great and I'd be happy to recommend any of them.
Secrets at Midnight by Nalini Singh - 4.5 stars
Psy-Changeling #12.5
I have loved Bastien ever since we first met him so I just knew that his story would be fantastic. He's such a great guy, fun loving and sweet but also incredibly protective of the women in his life as we've seen from his interactions with his sister Mercy. Bastien is currently infuriated though, he has finally caught the scent of his mate only to lose it again almost immediately. As a cat he should be able to hunt his prey wherever they go but the one person he needs to find almost desperately is managing to stay hidden from him. He isn't one to give up though and when he finally manages to track Kirby down there is no way he's letting her out of his sight again.
I don't want to say too much more about the story because there was a fabulous twist when it came to Kirby and I really enjoyed watching Nalini Singh reveal it. What I will say is that I absolutely adored this couple and I hope we get to see more of them in the future. This novella takes place over a very short space of time but it's a testament to Nalini's writing that it never felt rushed, I always find her stories completely believable no matter how short the timeline is. Kirby is one lucky girl to end up with a guy like Bastien and I'm definitely looking forward to reading his brothers Sage and Grey's stories.
Magic Steals by Ilona Andrews - 4.5 stars
Kate Daniels #6.5
As a fan of the Kate Daniels series I have been rooting for Dali and Jim ever since I read their first novella Magic Dreams so I was excited to see more of them as a couple. This story fits into the timeline during events in Magic Rises while Kate and Curran are off in Europe leaving Jim in charge of the Pack while they're gone.
Dali is such a brilliant character, not only is she an incredibly rare white tiger shifter who has an unusual magical ability but she's also the only vegetarian tiger you're ever likely to meet, her eye sight is terrible and she faints at the sight of blood. Basically Dali is the complete opposite of Jim who is the Alpha of the cat clan and Curran's right hand man. I think one of the reasons I love this couple so much is because of their differences though, they compliment each other's characters so well and it's nice to see a lighter, more relaxed side to Jim because of the way he is comfortable enough to let his guard down around Dali.
Dali has a lot of insecurities about herself, she doesn't feel like she fits in around the other shapeshifters but Jim is brilliant at boosting her confidence. He is so incredibly sweet towards her and I love the way he doesn't let her keep hiding their relationship. As with the first novella there are some hilarious scenes with Dali and her mother but Jim makes the whole situation even more amusing. This novella has plenty of action, it introduces us to some more of the Indonesian mythology from Dali's ancestry and it has an incredibly sweet romance. I still hope we get to spend more time with this couple in the future but I'm very glad we got a second novella about them.
Lucky Charms by Lisa Shearin - 4 stars
SPI Files #0.5
The first book in Lisa Shearin's SPI Files series (The Grendel Affair) has already been published but I've not read it yet and Lucky Charms is a prequel to the series so you're fine to start here. This story introduces us to Makenna, the new Seer who has just joined the SPI (Supernatural Protections and Investigations). Makenna's first job is to track down a missing leprechaun prince and the rest of his bachelor party after they escaped from their previous bodyguards. The leprechaun's have no intention of coming home quietly though - not when there is a whole city of trouble waiting for them to find it.
This story was very light hearted and a lot of fun to read, the world Lisa Shearin has created is full of a wide range of magical creatures (Makenna's boss is a vampire and the CEO is a dragon!) and it's one I'm looking forward to exploring further. There was plenty of humour and I loved the banter between Makenna and the rest of the team she was working with. I'm very curious about her partner Ian and definitely planning on reading the rest of this series - in fact I've already ordered my copy of The Grendel Affair and can't wait to start reading it.
The Beast of Blackmoor by Milla Vane - 3.5 stars
Mala is a warrior on a quest from her Goddess to tame the Beast of Blackmoor, she will do whatever it takes to achieve her goal because her people are depending upon her to protect them and she needs the Goddess's gifts to help them survive. What she doesn't realise is that the Beast is in fact a man and Kavik will do anything to avoid being enslaved again. Kavik angered Mala's Goddess so it's not too surprising that she has forsaken him but Mala believes that they can both earn redemption for themselves and their people if they only listen to the Goddess and follow her will.
I believe that The Beast of Blackkmoor is the first in a new series from Milla Vane (who you may already know under her other name Meljean Brook). This was very different to anything else I've read from this author and in a way it seemed like a bit of a strange fit for this anthology. The first three stories are UF and PNR where this is a straight fantasy and it's much, much darker than the others. I still enjoyed the story and would definitely read more if this does turn into a series but it just wasn't at all what I expected and I can see why some people haven't liked it as much. Milla Vane has created a dark world, one where you will see characters raped, beaten and tortured so its probably best to be prepared for that going in, but I really liked the main characters and enjoyed seeing them fight for their freedom and the lives of their people. This won't be the story for everyone but I'd recommend giving it a try because it might just surprise you.
_______________________
2nd Read
14th June 2015: reread Lucky Charms by Lisa Shearin (4 stars)
11th July 2015: reread Magic Steals by Ilona Andrews (4.5 stars)
2nd Read - July 2015
Original Review
I'll admit that the main reason I wanted to read this anthology was for the stories by Nalini Singh and Ilona Andrews, I'm a huge fan of both the Psy-Changeling and Kate Daniels series so of course I was eager to be able to dive back into both of those worlds. It was a great opportunity to try a couple of new series though and I have to say that I definitely want to read more from Lisa Shearin and Milla Vane in the future. I'm going to talk about each of these stories individually but I would just like to say that if, like me, you picked up the anthology for one or two authors it's definitely worth giving the other stories a chance too. All four novellas are great and I'd be happy to recommend any of them.
Secrets at Midnight by Nalini Singh - 4.5 stars
Psy-Changeling #12.5
I have loved Bastien ever since we first met him so I just knew that his story would be fantastic. He's such a great guy, fun loving and sweet but also incredibly protective of the women in his life as we've seen from his interactions with his sister Mercy. Bastien is currently infuriated though, he has finally caught the scent of his mate only to lose it again almost immediately. As a cat he should be able to hunt his prey wherever they go but the one person he needs to find almost desperately is managing to stay hidden from him. He isn't one to give up though and when he finally manages to track Kirby down there is no way he's letting her out of his sight again.
I don't want to say too much more about the story because there was a fabulous twist when it came to Kirby and I really enjoyed watching Nalini Singh reveal it. What I will say is that I absolutely adored this couple and I hope we get to see more of them in the future. This novella takes place over a very short space of time but it's a testament to Nalini's writing that it never felt rushed, I always find her stories completely believable no matter how short the timeline is. Kirby is one lucky girl to end up with a guy like Bastien and I'm definitely looking forward to reading his brothers Sage and Grey's stories.
Magic Steals by Ilona Andrews - 4.5 stars
Kate Daniels #6.5
As a fan of the Kate Daniels series I have been rooting for Dali and Jim ever since I read their first novella Magic Dreams so I was excited to see more of them as a couple. This story fits into the timeline during events in Magic Rises while Kate and Curran are off in Europe leaving Jim in charge of the Pack while they're gone.
Dali is such a brilliant character, not only is she an incredibly rare white tiger shifter who has an unusual magical ability but she's also the only vegetarian tiger you're ever likely to meet, her eye sight is terrible and she faints at the sight of blood. Basically Dali is the complete opposite of Jim who is the Alpha of the cat clan and Curran's right hand man. I think one of the reasons I love this couple so much is because of their differences though, they compliment each other's characters so well and it's nice to see a lighter, more relaxed side to Jim because of the way he is comfortable enough to let his guard down around Dali.
Dali has a lot of insecurities about herself, she doesn't feel like she fits in around the other shapeshifters but Jim is brilliant at boosting her confidence. He is so incredibly sweet towards her and I love the way he doesn't let her keep hiding their relationship. As with the first novella there are some hilarious scenes with Dali and her mother but Jim makes the whole situation even more amusing. This novella has plenty of action, it introduces us to some more of the Indonesian mythology from Dali's ancestry and it has an incredibly sweet romance. I still hope we get to spend more time with this couple in the future but I'm very glad we got a second novella about them.
Lucky Charms by Lisa Shearin - 4 stars
SPI Files #0.5
The first book in Lisa Shearin's SPI Files series (The Grendel Affair) has already been published but I've not read it yet and Lucky Charms is a prequel to the series so you're fine to start here. This story introduces us to Makenna, the new Seer who has just joined the SPI (Supernatural Protections and Investigations). Makenna's first job is to track down a missing leprechaun prince and the rest of his bachelor party after they escaped from their previous bodyguards. The leprechaun's have no intention of coming home quietly though - not when there is a whole city of trouble waiting for them to find it.
This story was very light hearted and a lot of fun to read, the world Lisa Shearin has created is full of a wide range of magical creatures (Makenna's boss is a vampire and the CEO is a dragon!) and it's one I'm looking forward to exploring further. There was plenty of humour and I loved the banter between Makenna and the rest of the team she was working with. I'm very curious about her partner Ian and definitely planning on reading the rest of this series - in fact I've already ordered my copy of The Grendel Affair and can't wait to start reading it.
The Beast of Blackmoor by Milla Vane - 3.5 stars
Mala is a warrior on a quest from her Goddess to tame the Beast of Blackmoor, she will do whatever it takes to achieve her goal because her people are depending upon her to protect them and she needs the Goddess's gifts to help them survive. What she doesn't realise is that the Beast is in fact a man and Kavik will do anything to avoid being enslaved again. Kavik angered Mala's Goddess so it's not too surprising that she has forsaken him but Mala believes that they can both earn redemption for themselves and their people if they only listen to the Goddess and follow her will.
I believe that The Beast of Blackkmoor is the first in a new series from Milla Vane (who you may already know under her other name Meljean Brook). This was very different to anything else I've read from this author and in a way it seemed like a bit of a strange fit for this anthology. The first three stories are UF and PNR where this is a straight fantasy and it's much, much darker than the others. I still enjoyed the story and would definitely read more if this does turn into a series but it just wasn't at all what I expected and I can see why some people haven't liked it as much. Milla Vane has created a dark world, one where you will see characters raped, beaten and tortured so its probably best to be prepared for that going in, but I really liked the main characters and enjoyed seeing them fight for their freedom and the lives of their people. This won't be the story for everyone but I'd recommend giving it a try because it might just surprise you.
_______________________
2nd Read
14th June 2015: reread Lucky Charms by Lisa Shearin (4 stars)
11th July 2015: reread Magic Steals by Ilona Andrews (4.5 stars)
November 24, 2014
Originally posted at The Book Nympho
MAGIC STEALS is Jim and Dali's story and is told through Dali's POV.
Imagine a 100 lbs tigershifter that gets sick at the smell of blood and is a veteran. That would be Dali, the blind tigershifter that loves racing her cars no matter how many she wrecks.
Jim is a werejaguar and acts as the Pack’s Chief of Security. As Dali puts it, Jim is a badass who wrote a book for badasses on how to be a badder badass.
Dali has very low self-esteem (but is not whiny!). She doesn't see herself like those close to her do and it's heartwarming to see her realize that her mom and Jim see her as she should see herself. A strong and beautiful woman. There is a scene between Dali and her mother where they talk about Jim (well Dali's mother talks and Dali listens) that makes the hard ass Jim we've all come to love, swoon worth.
I really enjoyed seeing another side to Jim. And watching him and Dali work together to solve a mystery and get their HEA.
MAGIC STEALS is a must read for Ilona Andrews fans!
Narration:
I was bummed to find out that Renee Raudman was not the narrator for MAGIC STEALS. I felt like I was cheating on her by listening to this novella since Renee narrates all of Ilona Andrew's books. Angela Dawe is not one of my favorite narrators and if I had realized she was the only narrator for the anthology I wouldn't have requested the audio for review. So after listening for about an hour I gave up and read the eARC that was provided by one of the authors.
While the narration didn't work for me, If you're an Angela Dawe fan you'll enjoy the narration.
I only read/listened to MAGIC STEALS by Ilona Andrews.
MAGIC STEALS is Jim and Dali's story and is told through Dali's POV.
Imagine a 100 lbs tigershifter that gets sick at the smell of blood and is a veteran. That would be Dali, the blind tigershifter that loves racing her cars no matter how many she wrecks.
Jim is a werejaguar and acts as the Pack’s Chief of Security. As Dali puts it, Jim is a badass who wrote a book for badasses on how to be a badder badass.
Dali has very low self-esteem (but is not whiny!). She doesn't see herself like those close to her do and it's heartwarming to see her realize that her mom and Jim see her as she should see herself. A strong and beautiful woman. There is a scene between Dali and her mother where they talk about Jim (well Dali's mother talks and Dali listens) that makes the hard ass Jim we've all come to love, swoon worth.
I really enjoyed seeing another side to Jim. And watching him and Dali work together to solve a mystery and get their HEA.
MAGIC STEALS is a must read for Ilona Andrews fans!
Narration:
I was bummed to find out that Renee Raudman was not the narrator for MAGIC STEALS. I felt like I was cheating on her by listening to this novella since Renee narrates all of Ilona Andrew's books. Angela Dawe is not one of my favorite narrators and if I had realized she was the only narrator for the anthology I wouldn't have requested the audio for review. So after listening for about an hour I gave up and read the eARC that was provided by one of the authors.
While the narration didn't work for me, If you're an Angela Dawe fan you'll enjoy the narration.
April 7, 2015
I love anthologies.
Secrets at Midnight by Nalini Singh
If you've read any Nalini Singh's Psy-Changeling story, you know what you can expect. I'm pretty easy when it comes to this series even when I see the flaws. The men here seem pushy sometimes, but they never cross the line.
Magic Steals by Ilona Andrews
I've read this because I liked the previous Dali and Jim's story. And I don't like to skip. Dali went overboard with I am skinny, blind vegetarian white tiger and not good enough. And the story just had to remind me of 'Offering food was a special thing to the shapeshifters'. The story is similar to their previous one. They are investigating yet another magical attack. Only this time there seem to be more than one magic which shouldn't be possible.
Lucky Charms by Lisa Shearin
This is a prequel to SPI series. It did its job perfectly. Now I want to read the first book. Makenna Frazier is a new SPI seer. No magical creature can hide behind glamour. She sees everything. Her first assignment is to find and return a group of five leprechauns. An entertaining world. I'll definitely read The Grendel Affair.
The Beast of Blackmoor by Milla Vane
The most heartbreaking story in this collection and the only one that needs to come with a trigger warning.
Do not read the blurb. It is nothing like the description. It gives an impression the focus is only on romance. This is the only story that's not an urban fantasy. There are warriors, zombie-like animals called revenants, demons. animals descended from gods, hate and love and revenge. It's a bit ruined by cheesiness in the end, but the rest of it is great.
Overall, not all stories are perfect but as a collection it's pretty good.
Secrets at Midnight by Nalini Singh
If you've read any Nalini Singh's Psy-Changeling story, you know what you can expect. I'm pretty easy when it comes to this series even when I see the flaws. The men here seem pushy sometimes, but they never cross the line.
Magic Steals by Ilona Andrews
I've read this because I liked the previous Dali and Jim's story. And I don't like to skip. Dali went overboard with I am skinny, blind vegetarian white tiger and not good enough. And the story just had to remind me of 'Offering food was a special thing to the shapeshifters'. The story is similar to their previous one. They are investigating yet another magical attack. Only this time there seem to be more than one magic which shouldn't be possible.
Lucky Charms by Lisa Shearin
This is a prequel to SPI series. It did its job perfectly. Now I want to read the first book. Makenna Frazier is a new SPI seer. No magical creature can hide behind glamour. She sees everything. Her first assignment is to find and return a group of five leprechauns. An entertaining world. I'll definitely read The Grendel Affair.
The Beast of Blackmoor by Milla Vane
The most heartbreaking story in this collection and the only one that needs to come with a trigger warning.
Do not read the blurb. It is nothing like the description. It gives an impression the focus is only on romance. This is the only story that's not an urban fantasy. There are warriors, zombie-like animals called revenants, demons. animals descended from gods, hate and love and revenge. It's a bit ruined by cheesiness in the end, but the rest of it is great.
Overall, not all stories are perfect but as a collection it's pretty good.
December 6, 2014
Review and rating only for Magic Steals by Ilona Andrews.
Actual rating: 3.25 stars. No story spoilers.
Jim and Dali are two of my favorite characters. Who am I kidding?! Most of the characters in the Kate Daniels series are my favorites. Anywho, we saw Dali a couple of times, but I feel like it's been a while since she graced us with her presence. I love Jim, and always have. So this was a fun glimpse with the two of them taking center stage.
The reason I'm giving this 3.25 stars is that these pages were packed full of Dali putting herself down, and questioning whether she's good enough. Ugh. It got old REAL FAST!!!! With less of that, this would've been a stronger story. Even so, I still enjoyed it.
Actual rating: 3.25 stars. No story spoilers.
Jim and Dali are two of my favorite characters. Who am I kidding?! Most of the characters in the Kate Daniels series are my favorites. Anywho, we saw Dali a couple of times, but I feel like it's been a while since she graced us with her presence. I love Jim, and always have. So this was a fun glimpse with the two of them taking center stage.
The reason I'm giving this 3.25 stars is that these pages were packed full of Dali putting herself down, and questioning whether she's good enough. Ugh. It got old REAL FAST!!!! With less of that, this would've been a stronger story. Even so, I still enjoyed it.
Want to read
June 3, 2014MORE JIM & DALI! <3
December 6, 2017
Read Lisa Shearin’s Lucky Charms on the 6th December 2017
Secrets at Midnight by Nalini Singh
As I said 1000 times before, Nalini can never disappoint me. Never! That being said, I loved Bastien’s story. He’s such a protective and cute dude, I can really see he’s Mercy’s brother. He’s a very sensual guy and Kirby is a very lucky girl *sigh*[I want one of Nalini’s heroes btw].
The story takes place during a few days. Bastien feels his mate close, but he can’t just find her. He can’t sleep, he’s cranky and to make matters worse, his mum cons him into coming to a “book club” where there are lots of single women. After he gets out of there by giving an elder packmate a lift, amazingly, he catches the scent of his elusive mate, exactly in front of the elder’s home.
From there, things proceed quickly. I felt they were a bit too quick, but it worked with the story so I’m not complaining. You definitely want to read this novella, especially because we see a bit of Lucas and Naya and Dorian and, obviously, Mercy and Bastien’s family.
Rating: 4.5*
Magic Steals by Ilona Andrews
This novella from the Kate universe continues Jim and Dali’s story. I have a feeling it takes place between “Magic Rises“ and “Magic Breaks”.
The novella starts with Dali making dinner. Those of you who’ve read the Kate Daniels series know how important this is in a shifter courtship. Vegetarian Dali is even cooking meat for Jim, dude this is important! Unfortunately the dinner doesn’t go as planed. First, Jim is dead tired, and after they catch some rest Dali’s mum comes to call! This kids just can’t catch a break =))
In this story we see a bit more about Dali’s heritage, her magic, and her relationship with Jim. Also, we get to experience her fear of not being good enough for Jim, which, since he’s a smart man, disabuses her of that stupid notion. Likewise we see some different facets of Jim: we see him being great with Dali and how freakily good he is undercover!
All in all I loved it!
Rating: 4.5*
Secrets at Midnight by Nalini Singh
As I said 1000 times before, Nalini can never disappoint me. Never! That being said, I loved Bastien’s story. He’s such a protective and cute dude, I can really see he’s Mercy’s brother. He’s a very sensual guy and Kirby is a very lucky girl *sigh*[I want one of Nalini’s heroes btw].
The story takes place during a few days. Bastien feels his mate close, but he can’t just find her. He can’t sleep, he’s cranky and to make matters worse, his mum cons him into coming to a “book club” where there are lots of single women. After he gets out of there by giving an elder packmate a lift, amazingly, he catches the scent of his elusive mate, exactly in front of the elder’s home.
From there, things proceed quickly. I felt they were a bit too quick, but it worked with the story so I’m not complaining. You definitely want to read this novella, especially because we see a bit of Lucas and Naya and Dorian and, obviously, Mercy and Bastien’s family.
Rating: 4.5*
Magic Steals by Ilona Andrews
This novella from the Kate universe continues Jim and Dali’s story. I have a feeling it takes place between “Magic Rises“ and “Magic Breaks”.
The novella starts with Dali making dinner. Those of you who’ve read the Kate Daniels series know how important this is in a shifter courtship. Vegetarian Dali is even cooking meat for Jim, dude this is important! Unfortunately the dinner doesn’t go as planed. First, Jim is dead tired, and after they catch some rest Dali’s mum comes to call! This kids just can’t catch a break =))
In this story we see a bit more about Dali’s heritage, her magic, and her relationship with Jim. Also, we get to experience her fear of not being good enough for Jim, which, since he’s a smart man, disabuses her of that stupid notion. Likewise we see some different facets of Jim: we see him being great with Dali and how freakily good he is undercover!
All in all I loved it!
Rating: 4.5*
November 12, 2014
Why you should read it: I have always loved anthologies because you get little tastes from your favorite authors, and some you haven't read before. This one was a winner because Ilona Andrews and Nalini Singh and Meljean Brook/Milla Vane. I hadn't read Lisa Shearin, but I enjoyed all of the leprechaun shenanigans. Nalini's story with Bastien had my heart beating, and I love almost everything in her Psy-Changeling series. Ilona Andrews' Magic Steals is perfect for Jim and Dali fans, and The Beast of Blackmoor (Milla Vane) was just so good I want more in this world, please! If you're a fan of anthologies, you have to pick this up. You get paranormal, barbarians, magic, snark and shifters. All four authors won't disappoint, and it's a great way to see more into the series you love.
Head over to the HEA blog to see what Nalini and Milla/Meljean Brook are working on next!
http://www.usatoday.com/story/happyev...
Head over to the HEA blog to see what Nalini and Milla/Meljean Brook are working on next!
http://www.usatoday.com/story/happyev...
January 10, 2015
*Genre* Paranormal Romance, Anthology
*Rating* TBD
*My Thoughts*
I am normally one who doesn't shy away from anthologies even though the stories are often in the 75-100 page range. I was definitely curious to read Night Shift knowing that 3 out of 4 authors my favorite authors were involved in this project. Sorry folks! I did not read the last story which apparently is the longest one in the book, and written by Milla Vane an alternate name for author Meljean Brook. This review is for the three novellas that I did read, and enjoyed.
*Full Review Posted @ Gizmos Reviews*
http://www.gizmosreviews.blogspot.com...
Published November 25th 2014 by Berkley
*Rating* TBD
*My Thoughts*
I am normally one who doesn't shy away from anthologies even though the stories are often in the 75-100 page range. I was definitely curious to read Night Shift knowing that 3 out of 4 authors my favorite authors were involved in this project. Sorry folks! I did not read the last story which apparently is the longest one in the book, and written by Milla Vane an alternate name for author Meljean Brook. This review is for the three novellas that I did read, and enjoyed.
*Full Review Posted @ Gizmos Reviews*
http://www.gizmosreviews.blogspot.com...
Published November 25th 2014 by Berkley
November 30, 2014
Naked Bastien VS Naked Jim = Lucas babysitting Naya wins
June 9, 2022
Secrets at Midnight is such a great read, like all the other novellas by Nalini Singh. I loved that the story began with Bastien’s sensing of his mate. What followed was a super beautiful mating dance. I was captivated by Kirby’s secrets the same way Bastien was. A loving story, sexy and sensual, but what stood out was the love of the pack, of family.
Sorry ~ I couldn’t tell Kirby’s secrets. I had no doubt that you’d love reading about them, though. Five Captivating-Mating-Dance Stars 💘💎⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Magic Steals is even better than Magic Dreams! Dali is such an anti heroine, in her own opinion that is. The way she sees herself is hilarious. I’m so glad that she’s finally heard what her mom has been telling her about herself. This story is so entertaining! So much fun to read! Now I really can’t wait for Magic Shifts! Would we see Dali becoming the Cat Alpha along side Jim? Five Amazing-Anti-Heroine Stars 💘💎⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Lucky Charms was my first read by the author and I planned to read more of her books! It felt like too much information on the world building for such a short novella at first. But I did need the background knowledge on this amazing world! Otherwise, I would totally get so lost and might lose interest in the super cool story!
Such an intriguing and enticing read! I loved Agent Makenna Fraser ( a seer! ) and her partner Agent Ian Byrne. Her first assignment with the company, Supernatural Protection and Investigations, also known as SPI, was mind-blowing ~ action-packed as well as entertaining! I definitely out like to check out more books in the series! Five Entertaining Stars 💘💎⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Beast of Blackmoor was unbelievably dark ~ raw ~ gripping ~ gritty ~ brutal~ heart-pounding~ and viciously breathtaking! The world building was so fresh so original! This novella was definitely a Fantasy well-suited for adventurous ~ daring ~ and super-strong readers!
I was still haunted by the vision and all the other senses permeating every fight scene ~ raw sex scene ~ and more! Everything was indescribably extreme!
And yes! I was totally blown away by Kavik, a tortured and kick ass warrior, and Mala, 'High Daughter of the House of Krima, second in line to the Ivory Throne, and one of Vela’s Chosen.' The ending was beyond-words heart stopping! Together, they finally delivered a deserving end to a demon-created warlord, who couldn't be killed previously! Five Haunting-Gripping-Heart-Stopping Starts 💘💎⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Happy Ending was hands down, one of the most amazing scenes in the novella:
But my blood thirsty heart needed to share how the warlord met his end:
My deepest gratitude to Nalini Singh for the gift of my Very First ARC Ever 🙇🏽♀️ The honest review above was directly from the depths of my heart 💝
Sorry ~ I couldn’t tell Kirby’s secrets. I had no doubt that you’d love reading about them, though. Five Captivating-Mating-Dance Stars 💘💎⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Magic Steals is even better than Magic Dreams! Dali is such an anti heroine, in her own opinion that is. The way she sees herself is hilarious. I’m so glad that she’s finally heard what her mom has been telling her about herself. This story is so entertaining! So much fun to read! Now I really can’t wait for Magic Shifts! Would we see Dali becoming the Cat Alpha along side Jim? Five Amazing-Anti-Heroine Stars 💘💎⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Lucky Charms was my first read by the author and I planned to read more of her books! It felt like too much information on the world building for such a short novella at first. But I did need the background knowledge on this amazing world! Otherwise, I would totally get so lost and might lose interest in the super cool story!
Such an intriguing and enticing read! I loved Agent Makenna Fraser ( a seer! ) and her partner Agent Ian Byrne. Her first assignment with the company, Supernatural Protection and Investigations, also known as SPI, was mind-blowing ~ action-packed as well as entertaining! I definitely out like to check out more books in the series! Five Entertaining Stars 💘💎⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Beast of Blackmoor was unbelievably dark ~ raw ~ gripping ~ gritty ~ brutal~ heart-pounding~ and viciously breathtaking! The world building was so fresh so original! This novella was definitely a Fantasy well-suited for adventurous ~ daring ~ and super-strong readers!
I was still haunted by the vision and all the other senses permeating every fight scene ~ raw sex scene ~ and more! Everything was indescribably extreme!
And yes! I was totally blown away by Kavik, a tortured and kick ass warrior, and Mala, 'High Daughter of the House of Krima, second in line to the Ivory Throne, and one of Vela’s Chosen.' The ending was beyond-words heart stopping! Together, they finally delivered a deserving end to a demon-created warlord, who couldn't be killed previously! Five Haunting-Gripping-Heart-Stopping Starts 💘💎⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Happy Ending was hands down, one of the most amazing scenes in the novella:
“Was I worth the wait?”
“Worth waiting forever,” he said gruffly. . .
“Was I worth the pain?”
“And so much more,” she breathed, taking him deeper. Her beast. Her warrior. Her heart.
But my blood thirsty heart needed to share how the warlord met his end:
When Kavik set his blade against the side of the man's neck, Barin looked into his eyes, grinning. He didn't look down to see the ivory shard in Kaviks's left hand—until blood spilled from his mouth. Then he glanced down to see it embedded in his heart.
Cruel. But Mala thought Barin deserved it.
The warlord looked up, and she thought that now he saw what Kavik was. His end. His death. It was the last he saw. Kavik yanked the shard from his chest and shoved it through his eye. Barin slid to the floor.
My deepest gratitude to Nalini Singh for the gift of my Very First ARC Ever 🙇🏽♀️ The honest review above was directly from the depths of my heart 💝
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