Posts Tagged With: magic

Book Review: Battle of Will by Sasha L. Miller

Posted on January 29, 2014 by Nikyta

Reviewed by Nikyta

Title: Battle of Will
Author: Sasha L. Miller
Heroes: Ackley & Ealdwin
Genre: M/M Fantasy
Length: 132,000 words
Publisher: Less Than Three Press
Release Date: January 1, 2014
Available at: Less Than Three Press, Amazon, All Romance eBooks & Barnes and Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads & Booklikes

Blurb: At a memorial service meant to honor the dead and mark the beginning of a truce between Skirfall and Morcia, Ackley spies a figure who does not belong—a mage interrogator whose presence will only cause harm should the Morcians realize who he is and all the people he has tortured. But the problem rapidly grows much worse than that when Ackley realizes his true purpose is assassination of the Morcian crown prince—an assassination Ackley prevents, but at great cost.

Banished from his own country, bound magically to the crown prince of his enemies, Ackley is certain of just one thing: whether he can figure out how to break the spell or not, his death is assured. Continue reading →

Categories: 4 Star Ratings, Book Review, LGBT, Nikyta's Reviews, Published in 2014 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Early Review: A Case of Possession by KJ Charles

Posted on January 24, 2014 by Heather C

Reviewed by Heather C

A Case of PossessionTitle: A Case of Posession
Author: K.J. Charles
Series: A Charm of Magpies #2
The Heroes: Lord Crane (AKA Lucien Vaudrey) & Stephen Day
Genre: M/M Historical Romance, Paranormal
Length: Short Novel
Publisher: Samhain Publishing
Release Date: January 28, 2014
Available at: Samhain Publishing, Amazon & Barnes & Noble
Add it to your shelf at: Goodreads & Booklikes

Blurb: Magic in the blood. Danger in the streets.

Lord Crane has never had a lover quite as elusive as Stephen Day. True, Stephen’s job as justiciar requires secrecy, but the magician’s disappearing act bothers Crane more than it should. When a blackmailer threatens to expose their illicit relationship, Crane knows a smart man would hop the first ship bound for China. But something unexpectedly stops him. His heart.

Stephen has problems of his own. As he investigates a plague of giant rats sweeping London, his sudden increase in power, boosted by his blood-and-sex bond with Crane, is rousing suspicion that he’s turned warlock. With all eyes watching him, the threat of exposure grows. Stephen could lose his friends, his job and his liberty over his relationship with Crane. He’s not sure if he can take that risk much longer. And Crane isn’t sure if he can ask him to.

The rats are closing in, and something has to give…

Product Warnings
Contains m/m sex (on desks), blackmail, dark pasts, a domineering earl, a magician on the edge, vampire ghosts (possibly), and the giant rats of Sumatra. Continue reading →

Categories: 5 Star Ratings, Book Review, Heather C's Reviews, LGBT, Published in 2014, Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Challenge Book Review: Widdershins by Jordan L. Hawk

Posted on January 24, 2014 by Nikyta

Reviewed by Nikyta

Title: Widdershins
Author: Jordan L. Hawk
Series: Whyborne & Griffin #1
Heroes: Percival Endicott Whyborne & Griffin Flaherty
Genre: M/M Paranormal Historical
Length: 85k+ words
Publisher: Self-published
Release Date: December 3, 2012
Available at: Smashwords, Amazon, All Romance eBooks & Barnes and Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads & Booklikes

Blurb: Some things should stay buried.

Repressed scholar Percival Endicott Whyborne has two skills: reading dead languages and hiding in his office at the Ladysmith Museum. After the tragic death of the friend he secretly loved, he’s ruthlessly suppressed any desire for another man.

So when handsome ex-Pinkerton Griffin Flaherty approaches him to translate a mysterious book, Whyborne wants to finish the job and get rid of the detective as quickly as possible. Griffin left the Pinkertons following the death of his partner, hoping to start a new life. But the powerful cult which murdered Glenn has taken root in Widdershins, and only the spells in the book can stop them. Spells the intellectual Whyborne doesn’t believe are real.

As the investigation draws the two men closer, Griffin’s rakish charm threatens to shatter Whyborne’s iron control. When the cult resurrects an evil sorcerer who commands terrifying monsters, can Whyborne overcome his fear and learn to trust? Will Griffin let go of his past and risk falling in love? Or will Griffin’s secrets cost Whyborne both his heart and his life? Continue reading →

Categories: 4.5 Star Ratings, Book Review, Challenge Book Week, LGBT, Nikyta's Reviews, Published in 2012 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 15 Comments

Book Review: Interlude with Tattoos: A Charm of Magpies Story by KJ Charles

Posted on January 22, 2014 by Heather C
Reviewed by Heather C
interludesmagpiesv1Title: Interlude with Tattoos
Author: KJ Charles
Series: A Charm of Magpies #1.5
The Heroes: Stephan Day & Lord Lucien Crane
Genre: M/M Historical Romance, Paranormal
Length: 14 pages (4,550 words)
Release Date: December 10, 2013
Available Free at: Smashwords
Add it to your shelf at: Goodreads
Blurb: A short story set just after the end of The Magpie Lord. Stephen Day and Lord Crane return to London. Neither is quite sure where their fledgling relationship is going. It seems unlikely that there can be much of a future for them, under the circumstances, with Stephen going back to work and Crane returning to China. Until they encounter an unexpected moment of magic… Continue reading →
Categories: 4.5 Star Ratings, Heather C's Reviews, LGBT, Published in 2013 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Young Adult Week! Review: Graceling by Kristin Cashore

Posted on January 18, 2014 by Nikyta

Reviewed by Nikyta

Title: Graceling
Author: Kristin Cashore
Series: Graceling Realm #1
Heroes/Heroine: Katsa and Prince Po
Genre: M/F Young Adult Fantasy
Length: 480 pages
Publisher: Harcourt Children’s Books
Release Date: September 7, 2009
Available at: Harcourt, Amazon, All Romance eBooks & Barnes and Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads & Booklikes

Blurb: Katsa has been able to kill a man with her bare hands since she was eight – she’s a Graceling, one of the rare people in her land born with an extreme skill. As niece of the king, she should be able to live a life of privilege, but Graced as she is with killing, she is forced to work as the king’s thug.

When she first meets Prince Po, Graced with combat skills, Katsa has no hint of how her life is about to change.

She never expects to become Po’s friend.

She never expects to learn a new truth about her own Grace – or about a terrible secret that lies hidden far away… Continue reading →

Categories: 4.5 Star Ratings, Book Review, M/F, Nikyta's Reviews, Published Before 2010, Theme Week | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 12 Comments

Young Adult Week! Review: Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas

Posted on January 12, 2014 by Nikyta

Reviewed by Nikyta

Title: Throne of Glass
Author: Sarah J. Maas
Series: Throne of Glass #1
Heroes/Heroine: Celaena Sardothien, Chaol Westfall, & Prince Dorian (Sorta)
Genre: M/F YA Fantasy
Length: 404 pages
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Release Date: August 7, 2012
Available at: Bloomsbury, Amazon & Barnes & Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads & Booklikes

Blurb: In a land without magic, where the king rules with an iron hand, an assassin is summoned to the castle. She comes not to kill the king, but to win her freedom. If she defeats twenty-three killers, thieves, and warriors in a competition, she is released from prison to serve as the king’s champion. Her name is Celaena Sardothien.

The Crown Prince will provoke her. The Captain of the Guard will protect her. But something evil dwells in the castle of glass–and it’s there to kill. When her competitors start dying one by one, Celaena’s fight for freedom becomes a fight for survival, and a desperate quest to root out the evil before it destroys her world.

Continue reading →

Categories: 5 Star Ratings, Book Review, M/F, Nikyta's Reviews, Published in 2012, Theme Week | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Book Review: Magic Rises by Ilona Andrews

Posted on January 7, 2014 by Nikyta

Reviewed by Nikyta

Title: Magic Rises
Author: Ilona Andrews
Series: Kate Daniels #6
Hero/Heroine: Kate Daniels & Curran Lennart
Genre:  M/F Urban Fantasy
Length: 368 pages
Publisher: Ace (Penguin)
Release Date: July 30, 2013
Available at:  Penguin, Amazon & Barnes & Noble
Add it to your shelf:  Goodreads & Booklikes

Blurb: Atlanta is a city plagued by magical problems. Kate Daniels will fight to solve them—no matter the cost.

Mercenary Kate Daniels and her mate, Curran, the Beast Lord, are struggling to solve a heartbreaking crisis. Unable to control their beasts, many of the Pack’s shapeshifting children fail to survive to adulthood. While there is a medicine that can help, the secret to its making is closely guarded by the European packs, and there’s little available in Atlanta.

Kate can’t bear to watch innocents suffer, but the solution she and Curran have found threatens to be even more painful. The European shapeshifters who once outmaneuvered the Beast Lord have asked him to arbitrate a dispute—and they’ll pay him in medicine. With the young people’s survival and the Pack’s future at stake, Kate and Curran know they must accept the offer—but they have little doubt that they’re heading straight into a trap… Continue reading →

Categories: 4 Star Ratings, Book Review, M/F, Nikyta's Reviews, Published in 2013 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment