LAST YEAR I WAS READING…(October 13, 2021)
This meme was created by Reading Marie. It’s a great meme because it’s nice and easy to do.
Here are the rules:
Take your current read and compare it to what you reading this exact time last year. Which one do you like better? What is different about the books? Any special facts/things you want to make note of or bring attention to
This Year I Am Reading…
Cameron wants to make it clear that he did not go into the festival to find a dragon mate.
Germany is supposed to be an escape. With a new mechanical engineering degree, a new job looming, and a whole life planned out that isn’t his, Germany seems like the best place to find himself.
So how does he end up discovering his lost magic heritage, running from bad guys with a secret agenda, and being adopted by the not-so-extinct Fire Dragon clan?
Cameron blames tall, dark, and sexy Alric, king of the Fire dragons. His fated mate. Because of course he is, and mates are meant to take the blame, right?
It may take a hot second, but as Cameron learns more about the scarred Alric and the life he’s landed in, Cameron realizes that perhaps this is where he’s meant to be, magic and mates and kidnapping and all.
Turns out coming to Germany wasn’t an escape but his awakening.
Bookshop: US
Amazon Buy Links: Kindle | Audiobook
Amazon UK Buy Links: Kindle | Audiobook
Still slumpy and tired all week. Just like last week, I went through several books hoping something would stick. This series opener for A.J. Sherwood & Jocelynn Drake‘s dragon series seems to be doing the trick. Hopefully, I will be able to finish this.
Last Year I Was Reading…
An agent for the Bureau of Trans-Species Affairs? That’s the best job in the world. And it’s enough for Terry Brandt, who doesn’t need personal relationships complicating his life. His newest assignment puts him undercover, investigating a Hollywood agent who may have some evil tricks up his sleeve.
Edge is not the man he appears to be. Although he’s a member of the Hollywood agent’s security staff, his true situation is darker and deeper than that. Ordered to seduce the new prospect, Edge finds himself caught in conflicting loyalties.
Haunted by their pasts and tied up in secrets, neither Terry nor Edge can afford to allow passion to interfere with duty. And with danger dogging them, it’s impossible to envision a future together.
One of the best Bureau stories out there. This is why dogs deserve all the hugs.
My 4.5-star review here.
Today we got two books with all manners of magical creatures. Both books involved shifters living in secret. The current read is a fated mates romance between dragons and mages. It is interracial as well as interspecies. There is a fish-out-of-water and age-gap thrown in. This is written in a humorous tone. The world is set in contemporary Germany with the dragons and mages considered ancient history by the general public. Last year’s read is a hurt comfort romance between a human federal agent and an enslaved shifter. The existence of paranormal beings is a big secret. The story is set in Hollywood during the 80s. It has a darker, angstier tone. Both books are each part of a series that featured a different couple per book.
Origin is the first book of Scales ‘N’ Spells. It opens with the dragons detecting the presence of a mage in Germany’s Dragon Festival after 500 years of searching. Fire Dragon King Alric approaches the American-Asian tourist who smelled like a mage and decided to play the tour guide to gauge what the young man knows. Cameron Park, charmed by the older German and completely oblivious to his own magic, tagged along. He was fascinated by Alric’s magical tales of what he thought was nothing more than ancient history. Dragons and magic no longer exists. It wasn’t until they were driving towards Alric’s castle that he came face to face with the truth. Or should I say truths because it was thousands of years worth of truth to take in. Cam didn’t take it well.
So far, there’s a lot of info-dumping and world-building going on here. Cam needed to be educated about a lot of things. I assume there’s going to be some magical training in future chapters. The fated mates aspect is different from how it’s usually done. It’s not necessarily an insta-love phenomenon. Sometimes a dragon only realizes a mage is his mate days or months after their first meeting. Alric and Cam don’t know yet, although there is already mutual attraction. I liked this style because it gives the couple time to get to know each other properly instead of simply being swept along by fate. Can’t wait for the fireworks!
Chained is the 4th book of The Bureau. Federal Agent Terry Brandt was assigned to do undercover work as a wannabe actor to investigate Hollywood’s most powerful agent. The man was said to be offering fame and fortune in exchange for Faustian deals. As part of a test to see if he has what it takes, Terry was asked to live in the agent’s house. There he was assigned a guard, Edge, a mysterious, silent young man who did more than just guarding.
Turns out Edge and his brothers were dogs shifters enslaved by the corrupt agent. This part was especially heart-breaking because the brothers were treated like dogs. They had to endure abuse and sleep in kennels. Edge, in particular, received the brunt of their master’s ire. He remained loyal to the asshole even after all the abuse. As he tearfully puts it, “I’m a good dog“. (╥﹏╥) The book was prevented from being too dark by Terry’s joyful personality and him just being kind and wonderful overall. Music plays a big part. The music-loving federal agent introduced Edge to the magic of 80s bands. If somebody did that to me, I’d hang on to the guy with tooth and nail too.
Dragons are awe-inspiring in magnitude and scale but there’s nothing as compelling as puppy dog eyes that stare right into your soul.
I’m ending the post with a book I’m looking forward to reading.
Librarian Sebastian Rath and his lover Vesper Rune are tasked with seeking and containing the evil Books of the Bound. But one of the Books has been freed from its prison—and is in the hands of a killer.
As more bodies turn up, Sebastian finds himself tempted to use forbidden magic to locate the Book and stop the murderer. And when an unexpected connection to the necromancers who created the Books is revealed, Sebastian must choose just how far he’ll go to right the wrongs of the past—even if it means endangering his own future.
Continuing today’s paranormal streak with the second book of Rath & Rune. Another killer to catch, another evil book to wrangle. And, more fun with tentacles. Who says librarians live a quiet life?
What were you reading this time last year?
(I hope it’s as riveting as Morticia’s book)
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