Posts Tagged With: dragons

Book Review: Mastering the Flames by S.J. Himes

Reviewed by Nikyta

Title: Mastering the Flames
Author: S.J. Himes
Series: The Beacon Hill Sorcerer #4
Heroes: Isaac & Constantine
Genre: M/M Urban Fantasy
Length: 394 pages
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: October 4, 2019
Available at: Amazon
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: The fourth book in the hit urban fantasy series shifts focus to the remaining Salvatore brother in this slow burn romance…

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Guilt-ridden after the massacre of his family, Isaac Salvatore turned to binge drinking to escape the pain. Now twenty-four years old, Isaac is a recovering alcoholic woefully out of practice in the magical arts, leaving his fire affinity hanging on the edge of disaster. After a month of rehab, he returns to Beacon Hill and his family, determined to remain sober, learn to control his magic, and figure out a plan for his life that doesn’t involve drinking.

Constantine Batiste is the oldest, most powerful vampire in the city. Born in ancient Gaul, the bastard son of a Celtic king, his long life has been shrouded in tragedy and horrors. Recent mistakes have left him wary and determined to guard his clan from all foes. When two of his clan members fall victim to an ancient evil, he summons the Necromancer of Boston for aid. Accompanying his older brother to the Tower is the handsome young fire mage once wounded by Constantine’s arrogance, and their encounter reignites an attraction that burns within both Constantine and Isaac.

The answer to who is targeting the vampires of Boston is buried in the dark, early days of Constantine’s transition to an immortal life. Isaac finds himself saddled with a painful insight into the evil cutting a swath through the supernatural population of Boston. While his brother, Angel, takes over the hunt to find and stop the threat to the city, Isaac struggles to find a balance between helping his brother and finding his own purpose and place in the world, free from his brother’s shadow.

Falling in love wasn’t part of his plan, but mastering the flames that burn between him and Constantine soon becomes the most important thing in his life, even as an ancient evil seeks to destroy them.

Mastering the Flames is the fourth book in The Beacon Hill Sorcerer series and is not a standalone. The series should be read in order for maximum enjoyment and understanding of the plot and characters. The Content Advisory is on the Copyright Page and can be seen by downloading a sample or using the Look Inside feature. 130k words.
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Categories: 4.5 Star Ratings, Book Review, LGBT, Nikyta's Reviews, Published in 2019 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: The Magician’s Apprentice by J.A. Jaken

Reviewed by Nikyta

Title: The Magician’s Apprentice
Author: J.A. Jaken
Series: Dragon Mage Chronicles Prequel
Heroes: Jander & Andrei
Genre: M/M Fantasy
Length: 471 pages
Publisher: White Owl Publishing
Release Date: September 1, 2019
Available at: Amazon
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: Jander Teregnan has never wanted anything more than to become a mage—to serve his king and defend his country as he explores his natural talent at commanding the strange force known as magic. Of course every apprentice needs a master, which comes with its own set of challenges…especially when the master he’s chosen for himself is none other than Andrei Teresh, personal advisor to the king and master mage of the city of Vallerin. Andrei, however, has more pressing problems on his mind than dealing with the unsolicited advances of one untrained mage-apprentice. A fierce and merciless army of unknown intent is sweeping across the land, threatening the security of the kingdom he has sworn to protect. Even worse, dragons—long thought to have withdrawn from the world of mankind—are emerging once again and spreading chaos in their wake. Somehow, Jander must find a way to help; not only to prove that he can be of use in the defense of his kingdom and become a mage, but also to secure his place at the side of the man he hopes to claim as master both of his magic and his heart.
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Categories: 4.5 Star Ratings, Book Review, LGBT, Nikyta's Reviews, Published in 2019 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: Dra’Kaedan’s Coven by Jessamyn Kingley

Reviewed by Nikyta

Title: Dra’Kaedan’s Coven
Author: Jessamyn Kingley
Series: D’Vaire #1
Heroes: Ayden & Brogan
Genre: M/M Fantasy
Length: 287 pages
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: August 30, 2018
Available at: Amazon
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: Dra’Kaedan of Leolinnia was born with a mark of Fate proclaiming that someday he would be the Grand Warlock. Standing in his way is Carvallius of Mallent who is desperate to rule the warlocks. His granddaughter Latarian has little magic so Carvallius concocts a plan to kidnap Dra’Kaedan to steal his power. After carving spells into Dra’Kaedan’s back, he begins life anew as Latarian’s familiar whom she calls Ayden. With no memory of his past, the pair are shuffled off to a cottage while Carvallius enlists the help of a brutal elven tribe to rob Dra’Kaedan of his future title. The tactic backfires, and the Coven of Warlocks is destroyed.

Minutes after Brogan shifts into a dragon for the first time, his best friend is banished from their court. Loyal to the core, Brogan follows Aleksander through the castle gates of their old home. Fate turns Aleksander into a king and Court D’Vaire is established. Considered cursed by dragonkind the D’Vaire’s are ostracized. After six centuries of loneliness Brogan leaves his family desperate to find his mate. He has no idea Fate has intervened and sent his other half right to Aleksander’s doorstep.

As a familiar Ayden struggles between a voice inside him that insists he is something more and Latarian’s stringent set of rules. He finds himself torn as he and Brogan try to find common ground. Can the pair find love and will Dra’Kaedan find out his true destiny before it’s too late?
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Categories: 3.5 Star Ratings, Book Review, LGBT, Nikyta's Reviews, Published in 2018 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: The Necromancer’s Reckoning by S.J. Himes

Reviewed by Nikyta

Title: The Necromancer’s Reckoning
Author: S.J. Himes
Series: The Beacon Hill Sorcerer #3
Heroes: Angel & Simeon
Genre: M/M Paranormal
Length: 302 pages
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: May 27, 2018
Available at: Amazon
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: Every action has consequences.

For a decade, Angel Salvatore has been the most powerful sorcerer and only necromancer in all the Northeast. Never one to ask permission nor apologies, he has acted with near impunity for years.
Until now.

The High Council of Sorcery has come to Boston, and Angel is their target. Charged with numerous violations of practitioner laws, his freedom and family are placed in jeopardy.

If found guilty, Angel’s apprentice Daniel will be imprisoned to serve out the remaining years of his apprenticeship. Isaac, his brother, is too vulnerable to be left unguarded, and Angel fears for his sanity and health. And Simeon, Elder vampire and Angel’s mate, refuses to see Angel convicted under the laws of the Council and his actions to keep Angel free threaten to start a war that could destroy their world. And Angel faces the severest of punishments—the castration of his gifts.

The Council has never cared for the people of Boston, and Angel doubts their motives. They have come for some insidious reason, and it has nothing to do with upholding the law and everything to do with Angel.

Dealing with an impending trial, a wayward ghost, and a graverobbing ring of thieves leaves Angel on the edge. He thinks he may have a handle on things until violence erupts across the city, and a stranger comes to town…a stranger with his own dark powers of necromancy.
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Categories: 4.5 Star Ratings, Book Review, LGBT, Nikyta's Reviews, Published in 2018 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Book Review: Consorting with Dragons by Sera Trevor

Reviewed by Nikyta

Title: Consorting with Dragons (Expanded Edition)
Author: Sera Trevor
Heroes: Jasen & Rilvor
Genre: M/M Fantasy
Length: 295 pages
Publisher: Self-Published
Release Date: April 7, 2018
Available at: Amazon
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: At last, the novel-length expansion of the award-winning novella!

Lord Jasen of Grumhul, an impoverished young nobleman, has come to the Draelands to find a rich husband to help pay his father’s debts. To the shock of everyone, he ends up attracting the attention of King Rilvor himself, and the dragons who control the magic in the land. Becoming royalty wasn’t something Jasen either expected or wanted, but he can’t control his growing feelings for kind and handsome king. Scheming factions at Court conspire to keep him from Rilvor’s side, and now Jasen has to decide if the chance at true love with Rilvor is worth the burden of being the husband of a king.

This sweet and funny Cinderfella romance is complete at ~85000 words and ends in a solid HEA. After all, true love always wins in fairy tales!
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Categories: 4.5 Star Ratings, Book Review, LGBT, Nikyta's Reviews, Published in 2018 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: Dragon’s Hoard by M.A. Church

Reviewed by Nikyta

Title: Dragon’s Hoard
Author: M.A. Church
Series: Dreamspun Beyond
Heroes: Avery & Warwick
Genre: M/M Paranormal
Length: 234 pages
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Release Date: October 1, 2017
Available at: Dreamspinner Press & Amazon
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: To be loved by a dragon is to be treasured.

A hundred years ago, werewolf Alpha Montgomery took a risk driven by desperation—he borrowed money from the ancient dragon Warwick Ehecatl, putting up the pack lands as collateral. Now the debt is due, and dragons don’t forget—or forgive. Warwick demands Montgomery’s son, Avery, and three businesses as compensation. As an Omega, Avery knows he is basically useless to his pack, so he might as well agree. He soon has second thoughts, though. Warwick is fearsome, and he’s free to do as he likes with Avery.

Warwick knows his race’s reputation, and he even admits some of it is deserved. But he’d rather cut off his tail than let his innocent mate’s light go out. It won’t be easy, but buried deep, there’s something between them worth safeguarding.
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Categories: 4 Star Ratings, Book Review, LGBT, Nikyta's Reviews, Published in 2017 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Book Review: Veiled Menace by Deborah Blake

Reviewed by Ami

Title: Veiled Menace
Author: Deborah Blake
Series: Veiled Magic #2
Heroine: Donata Santori
Genre: M/F Paranormal/Urban Fantasy
Length: 285 Pages
Publisher: Berkley/Intermix
Release Date: April 18, 2017
Available at:  Amazon and Barnes & Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb:  Since Witches came out of the broom-closet in the early 21st century, they have worked alongside humans as police officers, healers, stock traders, and more. But they aren’t the only paranormal entities in our world…

Witch and police officer Donata Santori is no stranger to magical mayhem, but lately her life has been unexpectedly charmed. Her job as a Ghost Yanker now includes the occasional paranormal investigation, and she’s advancing her magical abilities with the help of an ancestor’s treasured spell book. And while both of her former love interests—reclusive half-Dragon art forger Peter Casaventi and disgraced Shapechanger Magnus Torvald—are nowhere to be found, she’s not averse to being wined and dined by wealthy businessman Anton Eastman.

But Eastman isn’t what he seems, and what he wants from Donata is far more than she’s willing to give. When a mysterious relic, the Pentacle Pentimento, resurfaces, along with Peter’s Dragon father and a shocking Santori family secret, Donata must fight to save herself, her friends, and just maybe the fate of the world from a magic as old as it is dangerous…
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Categories: 3 Star Ratings, Ami's Reviews, Book Review, M/F, Published in 2017 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: Americana Fairy Tale by Lex Chase

Reviewed by Nikyta

Title: Americana Fairy Tale
Author: Lex Chase
Series: Fairy Tales of the Open Road #1; Screw-up Princess and Skillful Huntsman Trilogy #1
Heroes: Taylor & Corentin
Genre: M/M Fantasy
Length: 340 pages
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Release Date: September 12, 2014
Available at: Dreamspinner Press & Amazon
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: Modern fairy-tale princess Taylor Hatfield has problems. One: he’s a guy. Two: his perfect brother Atticus is the reincarnation of Snow White. Three: Taylor has no idea which princess he is supposed to be. Four: Taylor just left his prince (a girl) at the altar. Despite his enchanted lineage, Taylor is desperate to find his Happily Ever After away from magic, witches, and stuffy traditions. Regrettably, destiny has other plans for him. Dammit.

When word reaches Taylor that Idi the Witchking has captured Atticus, Taylor is determined to save his brother. He enlists the help of rakish and insufferable Corentin Devereaux, likewise of enchanted lineage. A malicious spell sends Taylor and Corentin on a road trip through the kitschy nostalgia of roadside Americana. To save Atticus, they must solve the puzzles put forth by Idi the Witchking. As they struggle, Taylor and Corentin’s volatile partnership sparks a flash of something more. But princesses have many enemies, and Taylor must keep his wits about him because there’s nothing worse than losing your heart… or your head.
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Categories: 3.5 Star Ratings, Book Review, LGBT, Nikyta's Reviews, Published in 2014 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: The Battle of Iron Gulch by R.G. Thomas

Reviewed by Ami

33026149Title: The Battle of Iron Gulch
Author: R.G. Thomas
Series: The Town of Superstition #3
Heroes: Thaddeus Cane/Teofil Rhododendron
Genre: MM Fantasy
Length: 230 Pages
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press/Harmony Ink Press
Release Date: January 12, 2017
Available at:  Amazon and Barnes & Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: Thaddeus Cane and his garden gnome boyfriend, Teofil, travel with Teofil’s mother and sister, Thaddeus’s father, and a new elf ally to Wraith Mountain, armed with the water from the Well of Tears. Thaddeus hopes to use the water to free his mother—cursed to take dragon form by the witch Isadora—and reunite her with her family. But their quest is far from over, and the party is forced to stop in the small village of Iron Gulch while they procure supplies for their trip up the mountain.

There, Thaddeus continues to gain strength in magic, and he will need it, because something is rotten beneath the idyllic facade of Iron Gulch. A new and dangerous adversary is bent on the destruction of not only Thaddeus and his friends, but everyone living in the town—unless their group can put a stop to it. The fight will be one of the hardest they’ve faced, but if they can prevail, it should prepare them to make their final stand against Isadora and put an end to her cruelty.
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Categories: 4 Star Ratings, Ami's Reviews, Book Review, LGBT, Published in 2017 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: Treasure for Treasure by R. Cooper

Reviewed by Nikyta

treasure-for-treasureTitle: Treasure for Treasure
Author: R. Cooper
Series: Beings in Love #7
Heroes: Zarrin & Joe
Genre: M/M Paranormal
Length: 340 pages
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Release Date: December 12, 2016
Available at: Dreamspinner PressAmazon
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: In the nineteenth century, the dragon Dìzhèn put the small coastal town of Everlasting under her protection. Her family was supposed to carry on the tradition, but all of Dìzhèn the Great’s heirs eventually left rather than live in the shadow of such a powerful dragon.

Only the youngest dragon of the current generation remains: Zarrin, the softhearted disgrace of his family. He might be weak, small, and afraid, but he is determined to show the humans they have not been forgotten… one human in particular. The problem is, Zarrin can barely get that human to talk to him.

It should be a dream come true to have a dragon trying to get his attention. But Joe refuses to bow to Zarrin like everyone else. Yes, Zarrin is sexy, oddly gentle for a dragon, and stares at Joe with a gaze so hot it makes him shiver. But hurt, mistrustful Joe can’t believe Zarrin’s promises that he’s here to stay. Joe doesn’t realize he is the treasure Zarrin has been looking for his whole life, a treasure he once let slip through his fingers out of fear. Now, to win Joe’s trust, Zarrin has to be brave and become as strong as Dìzhèn herself.
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Categories: 4.5 Star Ratings, Book Review, LGBT, Nikyta's Reviews, Published in 2016 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment