Melody of Mayhem by PC Nottingham

Eya believes that her mother is alive and a prisoner of Rondo, the leader of the Earthquake organization. Unfortunately, most everyone else believes that Olo is dead. Eya has taken over her mother’s cybersecurity job as it needed to be filled and she was the most qualified. And Although her true desire is to become the drummer for a band and pursue her passion for music, when an opportunity arises to not only prove that her mother still lives, and to hopefully to find a way to rescue her, Eya jumps at the chance, despite all the danger involved in the mission.

This is the first book in a new series, though it takes place after a previous series that I have not had the opportunity to read as of yet. But even without the knowledge of what happened in that series, it was not difficult to fill in the blanks as I read this book. Like other series from this author that I have read, I enjoyed this one as well. I could feel for Eya, working a job she hated but longing to be free to pursue her passion: a career as a professional drummer for a band.

I also appreciated the themes within this book dealing with racial intolerance and persecution. In this science fiction novel, it is the humans who have been somewhat discriminated against, though that has been improving, However a group known as Earthquake seeks to place humans as the dominant species in the galaxy, above all others, And while they had been thought wiped out after the death of their leader, an illegal AI facsimile seeks to change that belief. I do need to offer a trigger warning for readers that this book does contain descriptions of torture and physical abuse.

I found this to be a very interesting read. Not only because of the various perceptions of the different alien races and the way each was treated by the others, but in the view that all should be equal, even if they are not treated as such at the current time. Unfortunately, as usually happens in reality, the actions of a few drag down the impressions made by those who seek to lift others up. And dislike and fear of those who are different from each other always causes many more problems for everyone. For me, the message of this book seems to be that we are all equal, no matter where we came from or what we look like. Or at least we should be.

Amazon requires me to state that I have an Amazon Associates account that I use to generate the links to the books on their website. Purchasing something after following those links will earn a few pennies for me off the sale, though as of yet I have not earned anything from my Amazon Associate links.

Claws of Death by Angelina J Steffort

Myron and the other Fae had managed to escape the human king who seeks to secure his right to the crown by marrying Ayna, the last living member of the rightful ruling family. But she is already married to the Crow King, and has no desire or intention to leave her true love and mate. But with her sister also imprisoned by the king of Tavras and whose safety is being used as a threat to Keep Ayna compliant (as well the drug that keeps their faerie powers dormant), there is little that she can do but to pretend to be a willing bride-to-be while striving to search for a way to escape.

I read a review copy of this book and like the first two in this series thoroughly enjoyed it. There are both heartbreaking as well as heartwarming moments in this book, and a great many of both. Not only do Ayna and her sister need to be rescued, but they will also need to find a way to stop the use of a magic suppressing drug that the King of Tavras intends to use to control all of the Fae kingdoms as well as his own. Talk about an impossible-seeming task! 

This was a fun book that evokes a wide range of emotions in the reader. It certainly kept me reading to find out what happens next throughout the story. If you’ve been reading this series, you won’t want to.miss this one. Though without giving anything away, I feel that  I must warn you… the ending will leave you desperately waiting for the next book in the series. I know I certainly will be.

Amazon requires me to state that I have an Amazon Associates account that I use to generate the links to the books on their website. Purchasing something after following those links will earn a few pennies for me off the sale, though as of yet I have not earned anything from my Amazon Associate links.

“The Ever Mage” by Angelina J. Steffort

This book picks up where the Last one left off. Sanja is alone in the Crow Palace, a prisoner in the dungeon after making a deal with the Crow King, Taking Clio's place as his promised bride has managed to save the lives of her mate, King Recienne (aka Rogue), as well as his sister, Clio, and her mate, Tori, though it has left her to suffer and eventually be killed. It is well known that few Crow Brides manage to survive for more than a year, and most last far less than that. This book starts out with your heart aching for all of them, and it grows from there.

I can’t tell you how often this book had my heart aching for the characters and multiple times had me nearly in tears. Yes, there are happy moments as well, but this book definitely takes you through the entire range of human (and fae) emotions, both the happy ones and the dark ones. Honestly, it was the perfect conclusion to an enthralling series. I absolutely loved it.

This book kept me on the edge of my seat much of the time. Sometimes in a hopeful way, and other times despairing that the characters that I have come to love will be able to find their happy ending, as much as I was praying that they would. (And I can't tell you if they do or not, as that will spoil the ending for you, and you really will want to experience it for yourself.) There are certainly a lot of twists and turns, as well as unexpected happenings along the way, even though looking back, there were hints of what was coming from the very beginning of the series.

And in case you are wondering, yes, I feel this book well deserves a 5-star review. If you haven’t read the previous books in this series, I strongly recommend going back & reading them first as you will have missed so much that if you don’t, this book might not make as much sense to you.. I do need to warn you that there are some sexual scenes in the book. (How can there not be when you are dealing with newly-mated fairies?) But while somewhat intense, are not so overly graphic as to warrant concern save for very young readers. (If you are old enough for some of the darker themes in this series, then you are likely old enough for the sex scenes, especially if you have read the previous books.) I also need to warn you that there are some scenes involving torture as well.

I received a review copy of this book and would recommend this one to anyone who enjoys reading fantasy novels that take you on an emotional rollercoaster, if you enjoy stories involving magic and romance, trust and betrayal, and if you have been reading the previous books in the series, then you really don’t want to miss this one. It’s that good. I honestly didn’t want to put it down to sleep at night. It was definitely the perfect ending to this series.

This book may also be available through:

https://books2read.com/u/mg5YN0

Amazon requires me to state that I have an Amazon Associates account that I use to generate the links to the books on their website. Purchasing something after following those links will earn a few pennies for me off the sale, though as of yet I have not earned anything from my Amazon Associate links.