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RELEASE TOUR: The Sinner’s Son by Aimee Nicole Walker (Excerpt)
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NEW RELEAS BLITZ: Cosmo In Retrograde by A. Flowers (Excerpt & Giveaway)
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PROMO BLITZ: The Sinner’s Son by Aimee Nicole Walker
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COVER REVEAL: The Sinner’s Son by Aimee Nicole Walker
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RELEASE BLITZ: Worth The Wait by C.F. White (Excerpt & Giveaway)
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REVIEW: Deadly Lineage by M.J. May
Deadly Lineage – M.J. May
Shunned by most species and abandoned by their warlock fathers, necromancers are marginalized, feared, and reclusive. Erasmus Boone is different. His warlock father chose love instead of abandonment. Unusually powerful and talented, Boone’s embraced his necromantic abilities and managed to carve out an existence within a world that would rather he not exist at all.
Humans aren’t the most respected species. Hell, they’re just a step above termites in the eyes of most. Detective Franklin O’Hare has never taken derision towards his humanity to heart. Determined to do the best given his human limitations, Detective O’Hare does whatever it takes to right the wrongs of the world—no matter the species concerned—even if that means working with a necromancer. Besides, Erasmus Boone isn’t so bad. In fact, he’s temptingly perfect.
Seeking solace after a difficult case, Boone walks the typically peaceful gravesites of Trinity’s Holy Cross Cemetery. The gentle hum of contented, long-dead souls ease Boone’s mind—until he’s hit with an unearthly cry unlike any he’s heard before. Unfortunately, that first soulful cry isn’t Boone’s last, each wail revealing a disconcerting pattern. There’s a serial killer in the wind, and their murders are resulting in souls with painful, missing pieces, leaving their voices incoherent and
indecipherable.Boone and O’Hare must work closely together if they’re going to stop the killings. O’Hare learns quickly that keeping Boone safe from disgruntled clients and serial killers is a never-ending and nearly impossible task.
As O’Hare and Boone grow closer, so does the killer. They need to figure out who’s indiscriminately murdering seemingly unrelated species, and why the victims’ souls are devastated beyond repair, before Boone becomes another victim on the ominous list.
Deadly Lineage is the first book in the Necromancer Tales series. This series is a spin-off of the Perfect Pixie series and takes place in the same world but can be read as a stand-alone. Deadly Lineage is a M/M romantic fantasy mystery with an unusually sane necromancer just trying to make a living, a humble human detective attempting to ignore his attraction to the aforementioned necromancer, an arrogant but redeemably overprotective warlock father, a twisted serial killer, a questionably agreeable all-powerful djinn, damaged souls, humans-some redeemable and some not, a steamy Mississippi summer, and far too much sweet tea. Deadly Lineage has a HFN ending.
Mentions of violence, murder, souls bruoght back from the beyond, speciest bigotry, and a few characters of questionable morals and sanity.
Deadly Lineage is the series opener of Necromancer Tales, a paranormal/urban fantasy spin-off of Perfect Pixie by M.J. May. This is a world where supernatural creatures live openly among humans. The story is in dual POVs.
The opening scene immediately grabbed my attention with jobbing necromancer Erasmus Boone chilling in an old cemetery, then tasked to summon the soul of a murder victim. Hovering around him is Police Detective Franklin O’Hare, in charge of the crime scene, and really because the good detective is crushing on the necromancer.
This was the first of what became a series of murders in which the souls of the victims were torn apart. Erasmus was puzzled, as only a necromancer—whether working alone or in collaboration with a witch or warlock—has the ability to do such a thing. He is the only known necromancer in the area.
Like most necromancers, Erasmus is a solitary creature, but he’s sweet-natured and full of southern charm. As a necromancer, he would have been chased out of his neighborhood if not for a kindly neighbor couple. In more vulnerable moments, he finds comfort in his mother’s reminder that he is loved.
Among the various supernatural species, necromancers aren’t very popular. People tend to associate them with necrophilia. Even their own warlock fathers shun them since necromancers tend to become mentally and magically unstable as they grow older and thus have short lifespans. Warlocks can sire only sons, and they’re either warlocks or necromancers.
One of the key aspects is Erasmus’s relationship with his father. His father is one of the most powerful warlocks in the US, and he loves Erasmus, despite Erasmus being a necromancer, and their time together might be short. He’s fiercely protective and readily provides Erasmus with protective charms even if he’s on the other side of the country.
Erasmus is friends with the djinn Aurelia, the best character in the series. As a creature bound to a master, she values having the power to choose. She can be unemotional and has a different perspective on things that humans take for granted, which is amusing whenever she sassed people in her flat tone. She saved the boys every time they’re in a tight spot, and I think she likes the option to do so.
Franklin is Captain America gorgeous and just as protective of his necromancer. He’s as dedicated to his job as he is to keeping Erasmus safe. It’s ridiculously cute whenever he gets into protective boyfriend mode, even when they weren’t boyfriends yet. And the romance is so slow burn, all we get are kisses and sweet tea, granted, they are some knee-melting kisses.
Erasmus’ relationship with Franklin is supportive, refreshingly drama-free, and one of the healthiest, even before they admitted their attraction to each other. I really liked that the author took time to build their romance instead of forcing an HEA. It made me excited for the next books.
The plot focused on the mystery and Erasmus’s connection to it. It’s pretty easy to guess the perp, but far from a letdown, it was fun tagging along with Erasmus and Franklin on their investigation. It also made the world-building more immersive, especially for me as a first-time reader of the Perfect Pixie/Necromancer Tales world.
Their world is not perfect, but I enjoyed reading about it. The highlights are the established magic system, necromancer history, the characters’ connections, the state of their world in general, and their everyday life. It’s fascinating because it’s what the real world would be like if supernatural creatures existed in the here and now.
Also, there were intriguing open threads that would be fun to follow in the sequels. And was that a power-up? Let that be a power-up!
Deadly Lineage is about the sins of the fathers and the trials of sons. Dark with that laid back Southern vibe, overall, it’s a comfort read that is just this side of deadly,
Rating:
4 Stars – minor quibbles but I loved it to bitsSoundtrack: I’m Only Human Sometimes
Artist William Control
Album: Babylon
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DEADLY LINEAGE: Kindle | Audiobook
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REVIEW: A Bright Celestial Sea by Chani Lynn Feener
A Bright Celestial Sea – Chani Lynn Feener
Pryor Oro came to the Olympus to find a missing Imperial, not fall for one.
On the space station Olympus, a disappearance and a theft has captured the attention of the Intergalactic Police Force. Assigned to the case, Pryor heads to the World Ship in order to search for a missing prince. While there, he’s forced to work with the Emperor, Wystan Aurelius, who seems to never let Pryor out of his sight. Confused over why a man he’s never met is acting so possessive, Pryor’s urgency to solve the case and get away from Olympus and its ruler intensifies, even as the unruly Emperor starts to grow on him.
Wystan Aurelius finds life on a World Ship dull, until Detective Pryor steps onto his ship, and into his territory.
More concerned with discovering who has stolen missing medical technology, Wystan couldn’t care less about a vanished prince from another planet. At least, not until he sees how invested in the case Pryor is, and realizes how upset he gets when he doesn’t have the Detective’s full attention turned his way, and his way only. Wystan finds himself at a crossroads. Force Pryor to accept him by telling the truth? Or win him over the old-fashioned way?
Wystan’s secrets could unravel everything, but he isn’t the only one hiding things. Pryor’s privy to some classified information could end up turning the entire galaxy for a loop. Together, the two must navigate through their emotions and the seedy underside of Olympus to solve the case before it’s too late, and life, as they both know it, is altered forever.
A Bright Celestial Sea is another book written by Chani Lynn Feener in the same sci-fi universe as Between the Devil and the Sea and A Sea of Endless Light. It does not have a name yet, but I’ll call it IPF-verse since the Intergalactic Police Force is one thing common with the other books. Also, the MCs are IPF detectives with secrets they desperately want to stay buried.
The opening puts us right in the thick of things. From what I could suss out, a member of the Tiberian imperial family, nephew to the Empress, is missing. A critical illness, a top-secret nano-technology, and a classified medical procedure were uncovered. There’s an assassination attempt, and either imperial twins, sons of the Empress, might be involved, but then they were supposed to be dead.
All of this happend in Olympus, which is the world ship of the Vexans.
I spent half the book untangling the convoluted plot. For one, I was confused by all the names that came up. I was audiobooking this, and the Tiberian Imperials had very close-sounding names that I didn’t immediately realize there were several of them.
Roth is the nephew, the party boy wasting Tiberian tax money on lavish shindigs across the galaxy. Rath is his twin and is said to have died at birth or missing (I’m not sure). Ross is the twin most favored by the Empress, so he’s spoiled rotten. Rune is the unwanted, sickly spare.
The world-building was just enough to establish there are world ships, essentially artificial planets, and Olympus is ruled by twin Vexan emperors Wystan and his sister. The two alternately ruled every six months. It seems the Tiberians and Vexans are born in pairs, and this is a key element here.
Also, Vexans have the most beautiful eyes, which are the color of galaxies. The cover grabbed me with the image of Wystan and his eyes.
It helped that I had read the other books, so I was able to piece together the setting. Similarly, we have an IPF team led by Detective Pryor Oro and Inspector Castor (forgot his last name). Immediately, sparks flew as Pryor butted heads with the cocky and shamelessly flirty Wystan, who made it clear he wanted the detective.
Also, Pryor is a Tiberian, and saying the case hits close to home is a gross understatement, as we later discover.
The author was building some delicious antagonistic USTs, but I couldn’t fully enjoy it. I was too busy trying to understand what was going on. This is also the very thing that makes the mystery so compelling. I was in the dark until the bad guy showed his cards.
The second half was full-on squee-tastic BL manga vibes, with my favorite childhood connection trope working its magic. Because Pryor was that abused young boy Wystan wanted to protect once upon a time ago, and adult Pryor is strength, competence, and hurts rolled into one irresistibly gorgeous package.
The detective is still dealing with PTSD and amnesia, and the emperor is that possessive, adoring seme patiently waiting for his hot/cold yet can’t stay away uke, to remember and/or admit they knew each other as children. Meanwhile, it wouldn’t hurt to shower the overworked detective with TLCs and assist, a.k.a. insert himself in the investigation whether the detective wants him to or not.
This part tied beautifully with the mystery, giving us an edge-your-seat villain showdown and a slow-clap-worthy takedown of the person who hurt Pryor the most. It was fanfuckingtastic! And so satisfying, especially knowing what Pryor had gone through. It totally made the book for me!
A Bright Celestial Sea is a story of unwanted children, secret identities, and inescapable ties. The “cold open” and figuring out who’s who took some time for me before the story hit its stride. But I’m thrilled I stuck around. Ultimately, It was a rewarding experience.
Overall, a complex mystery and a sweet sci-fi romance between two men who shine the brightest at their most vulnerable.
Rating:
4 Stars – minor quibbles but I loved it to bitsSoundtrack: Celestial Bodies
Artist: Ghost Data feat. Jovani Occomy
Album: The Occulus Occult
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A BRIGHT CELESTIAL SEA: Kindle | Audiobook
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REVIEW: A Sea of Endless Light by Chani Lynn Feener
A Sea of Endless Light – Chani Lynn Feener
Fox Axford has been tasked with capturing a feared thief who has been terrorizing the Hild Empire, not flirt with the impassive captain he’s been unlikely paired with.
When Fox is assigned to the Hild case by the Intergalactic Police Force, he doesn’t anticipate it taking very long. He’s known for his wits and charm and is confident enough in his abilities to have this thing solved and closed before the week is through. Except, he didn’t account for how distracting working with Captain Jiro Arc was going to be.
Jiro Arc has a secret he’s been keeping all his life, one that he’s never wanted to share with anyone. Until the day Detective Fox appears.
Having lived quietly climbing the ranks of the Hild Comets, Captain Jiro is used to rebuffing attention with his steely disposition. All of his efforts seem to have the opposite effect on the detective, however, who only seems more and more interested in Jiro and his personal life as time goes on. Their main task is to find the mysterious thief Shilling and bring him to justice, but Jiro has an agenda of his own, one that might ultimately lead to him betraying Fox, whether he likes it or not.
Fox grows even more conflicted after meeting the thief they’re after. Shilling isn’t at all what he expected, and when he finds himself sympathizing with the enemy, Fox is forced to acknowledge that there may be things he doesn’t yet know or understand about the vast universe, and the people living in it.
This book is a standalone featuring one charming detective and the captain he’s set his sights on. It is a slow-burn, forbidden romance with depictions of violence (though mild) and explicit sexual scenes not suitable for all readers. While this book is set in the same universe as A Bright Celestial Sea, it is a complete standalone with an all new cast of characters. You do not have to read both books, but if you choose to they do not have to be read in any particular order since there are no connections between the two.
I’m slowly but surely sinking into the rabbit hole of Chani Lynn Feener‘s immersive universe of Intergalactic Police detectives finding adventure and romance while solving cases and catching criminals.
From last week’s dark offering, Between the Devil and the Sea, this week’s tale features more derring-do, secret identities, and beachside confessions. It also has more sci-fi elements and beautiful aliens. One in particular has fabulous purple hair and unique abilities!
A Sea of Endless Light stars Fox Axford, the top detective of the IPF. He’s the detective who helped Shade and Apollo.
He, his partner, Inspector Nova, and his cousin, Jr Detective Dawon, were tasked to solve a series of thefts in the Hild Empire. Upon landing, he met his liaison officer, the taciturn Captain Jiro Arc, with whom Fox had an instantaneous strong attraction. He was rebuffed, but it didn’t stop Fox from shamelessly flirting any chance he got.
Fox is charming as heck, and as most of the chapters are from his third-person perspective, it’s a fun and wily POV. Cavalier and Han Solo cocky, he’s also very good at his job, having a perfect record. He easily puts people at ease with his mask of nonchalance and has the uncanny ability to read people and predict their next three moves. Of course, he immediately tried to read the enigmatic captain in an effort to win him over.
Jiro’s POV is rarely shown, so he’s mostly a mystery. His attitude was off-putting at first, but he slowly loosened up, and when he started bantering with Fox, we see him shine. He’s the type of guy worth taking time to know and it’s very rewarding to discover the nuances of his personality. He’s gorgeous, especially in uniform, formal, reserved, and also unexpectedly needy. I loved the dynamics of his and Fox’s opposite personalities. The chemistry is a total chef’s kiss!
The Captain is a closed book most of the story, but clues are scattered here and there. The author did her magic spectacularly because even though I figured out Jiro’s secret early on, it was still thrilling to watch Fox piece everything together for the big reveal.
There is a love geometry present. I normally loathe this type of conflict, but the author gave us another fascinating character in Schilling the Thief. The man is beguiling and as shameless a flirt as Fox, if not more. I didn’t expect him and Fox to have such fantastic chemistry!
The romantic development between the three characters was beautifully crafted. I seriously can’t choose between Jiro and Schilling, and to be honest, I don’t want to. I loved them both! So, when the pieces started to click, I was ecstatic with the resolution!
A part of the geometry is Prince Obsidian, who claimed Jiro whether the captain wanted him or not. He’s the possessive type who would cut anyone who’d so much as looks at Jiro, so Fox had to tread carefully. This guy was tagged as bad news early on and he stayed that way till the end. We don’t want him anywhere near our boys.
Nova and Dawon stood out as secondary characters. Nova was the voice of reason when Fox got wilder ideas, and Dawon made me laugh with his tactless comments. Their team had an engaging found family dynamics, and them living in their ship Lagoon with Fox as pilot, reminded me of Han Solo and Chewy in their Millennium Falcon.
Slow burn is the way of things, so it took a few chapters for the story to hit its stride. Things got into high gear when Schilling appeared, and Jiro started warming up to Fox. From that point, I was completely hooked!
The plot seemed like a straightforward case of theft. Then it threw me for a loop when it turned out to be something more insidious. And even with the predictable part I mentioned above, it’s still a very entertaining story. It made me want to hop aboard the Lagoon and tag along with the team!
A Sea of Endless Light is a story of public masks, secret identities, and needful lies. It is a novel take on the Gemini star sign that was executed cleverly and will always be memorable. Overall, it’s a space adventure that captivated me to no end!
Rating:
4.5 Stars – perfection is only half a step awaySoundtrack: Endless Light
Artist: O’Brother
Album: Endless Light
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A SEA OF ENDLESS LIGHT: Kindle | Audiobook
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REVIEW: Between the Devil and the Sea by Chani Lynn Feener
Between the Devil and the Sea – Chani Lynn Feener
What happens when a devil claims a demon?
Detective Shadow Yor hates his life.
He spends all of his time, day after day, struggling against the demons in his head that tell him he’s a worthless, unlovable person. This doesn’t change when he’s sent on a new assignment with his partner to solve a series of murders. He’s good at his job and will find whoever did it, there’s no doubt there. The only question is whether or not he’ll be able to keep himself together, or if his empathic abilities will finally be the death of him.
Apollo Orobas is bored.
He’s bored of his secret nighttime proclivities and bored of playing the part of charming neighborhood do-gooder. Apollo isn’t good, never has been, but just when he’s starting to think life holds no interest, Shadow Yor stumbles into his sights. It doesn’t take long for him to figure out the detective is also hiding his true self, and suddenly coaxing Shade’s monster out into the light is all Apollo can think of. As obsession sinks its claws in, he decides it’s time for a new game, one Shade is going to play with him. Whether he likes it or not.
Kidnapped and forced to endure whatever twisted plans Apollo has in store, Shade struggles to hold onto his idea of right and wrong, but the more he tries to resist, the more those lines start to blur. What chance does a mere demon have against an actual devil? Especially one who soothes those twisted voices in his head and makes him feel for the first time ever that maybe he isn’t as unlovable as he’s always believed.
Trigger Warning: This is a stand-alone dark romance which means there are many themes that some might find disturbing. Some of these include, but are not limited to, dub-con, violence, a seriously obsessed male lead, a male lead who deals with low self-esteem, and explicit sexual content not suitable for all readers. Please be sure to read the Author’s Note for a complete list of warnings! HEA guarantee!
Between the Devil and the Sea by Chani Lynn Feener has a long list of trigger warnings that should be heeded. The gist is that it is pitch black with a guaranteed HEA. The book is a sci-fi serial killer romance, low on the sci-fi, high in serial killer, and a slow-burning romance.
The setting is an intergalactic world where law enforcement officers jump from planet to planet depending on where their cases take them. Most of the story takes place on a planet that is really no different from Earth. Apart from a few high-tech gadgets mentioned, the story feels very contemporary.
Detective Shadow Yor and his partner and best friend, Inspector Gael Thiago, are working on a new case that points to a serial killing. Shadow, known to most as Shade, is an empath, a rare variety whose powers can’t be turned off. Empaths are usually trained to be detectives because they can suss out lies.
He met Apollo Orobas, a well-liked art journalist currently assigned to cover their case. It turned out Apollo was an empath himself, although a low-level one. Apollo is easygoing, with a boy-next-door charm. Shadow’s fellow LEOs encourage their friendship, seeing how they hit it off quite well.
A deadly encounter with a suspect led to an abduction, and suddenly Shadow is face to face with his nightmare – or is it his deepest, darkest desires?
This is a deliciously intense, twisty turny tale, though it lost some of its bite with Shadow’s repetitive woe-is-me internal dialogue, which took up almost the entire first half of the story. Like that complaint, nobody wants to date someone who can read all their emotions. He whined about this at least three times.
While there’s a lot of self-depreciation, Shadow has a strong will, fighting spirit, and snark, so he’s not a doormat. He had a traumatic, lonely childhood and a solitary adulthood if not for Gael, who immediately took his introverted partner under his wing.
Meanwhile, Apollo wears his public face with aplomb and embraces his true self with glee. Our boy’s not sweating the small stuff and handles crisis with a deft hand. He knows when to dole out punishment and when to soothe, taking the hurt part of the story to kinky and the comfort part to hella swoony levels.
There are lots of things Shadow is afraid to admit to himself but trust the psychopath to teach Shadow how to embrace his dark side by letting Apollo be his light. Because shadows thrive best in the light.
And holy hell, did it work! Apollo took Shadow apart and put him back together the right way. It took a while for their connection to click, but when it did, the chemistry was off the charts! And I especially loved the ending because that’s where they zing!
Between the Devil and the Sea is one man’s journey to self-acceptance and finding the yin to his yang. Overall, it is a potent example of soul-deep connections that make a broken man whole, and the devil you know holds the glue.
Rating:
4 Stars – minor quibbles but I loved it to bitsSoundtrack: Breathe
Artist: Christian Cohle
Album: Holy Trouble
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BETWEEN THE DEVIL AND THE SEA: Kindle | Audiobook
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RELEASE TOUR: Ghost by M. Tasia (Giveaway)
