"Fate of the Champion" by Clara C.Johnson

Serra and the others have arrived back in Adhelm. But it is not with the news of successful treaty negotiations that she was hoping to bring. Instead, she must return to the palace to inform the king and his counsel that Queen Kathryn of Crelia possessed an army of orcs and was preparing to attack. And she must somehow manage to convince them that it is the truth and that the orcs are more than fantastical story creatures. They are real and quite vicious, but most everyone generally considers them nothing more than story creatures used to frighten naughty children with scary tales. 

This was the third and final book in the Champion series. And though I felt that parts of it could have benefitted from another round with a proofreader, the story itself was very entertaining and kept me wanting to find out how it would end.  

There were a number of surprising twists in the story that I hadn't seen coming. These twists made it a more complex and well rounded tale that kept my interest and curiosity piqued throughout the book. Anyone who enjoyed the first two books in this series would definitely want to read this series finale. It closes out the characters' stories quite nicely.

"Dames & Deadly Games" by Trixie Silvertale

Mitzi Moon is off to enjoy a vacation with her boyfriend, Erick on the grand opening excursion of a luxury railroad line. They will be enjoying all of the first class luxury offerings and enjoying the chance to try to solve the murder mystery theme on this first trip.

It seems like it should be a very fun weekend trip, however things take an unexpected turn when one of the passengers involved in the murder mystery game is actually murdered.

This was an interesting and fun cozy mystery with a paranormal aspect. Though it was the 13th book in the series, it was written in such a way that it works well enough as a stand alone story. I do think I might have enjoyed it even more if I was already familiar with the series, but please don't mistake that to mean it wasn't enjoyable, because I did like it. I just felt like knowing more of the characters’ history together would have somewhat enhanced my enjoyment of the story.

This book was a quick and fun read, that left me wanting to know more of what had happened before the start of this story… so I've picked up a copy of book one in the series so that I can find out how it all started. I think that anyone who enjoys cozy mysteries, paranormal mysteries, or just a nice, fun story will enjoy reading this book, and likely this whole series.

"The Fall of the Fairy Queen" by Gemma Perfect

Elsie and the others have won their rebellion against the forces of her cruel step parents. They are no longer a threat and as the only living heir, she will be the queen. But it appears that the question now seems to be will she actually get to be the queen and ruler or will Hardy continue to win the hearts of the people and find a way to have them declare him their king instead. Elsie knows he has killed before, so the question in her mind is more about how long before he no longer needs her around and finds a way to have her killed without implicating himself in her murder.

This book begins exactly where the first book ends. And not needing the setup or explanations that are necessary in any first book of a series, the pacing of this story was much quicker, and there was much more action happening overall.

I definitely enjoyed this book. The story kept me hooked all the way to the end, and was difficult to put down at night. I believe that it will appeal to anyone who enjoys stories with a bit more emotional conflict than there was in the first book. Though like book 1, it will likely also appeal to those who enjoy reading tales involving fairies.  I am looking forward to seeing what happens in book 3.

"It's a Charmed Life" (The Grimm Files Book 1) by Selene Charles

Detective Elle (Arielle) is a siren who works for Grimm PD. Her specialty is solving cold cases, and her latest assignment sends her to the realm of Wonderland where she must work with Constable Maddox Hatter

The two of them need to solve both Elle's cold case involving two dead bodies found on the Charming Estate and Maddox's recently discovered dead body in Wonderland.

This was an interesting twisted fairy tale involving a number of recognizable characters from wonderland and other quite familiar stories. But these are not the familiar tales that we grew up reading involving these characters. 

This twist on both the characters and the places in this book I found to be very unique and I enjoyed the originality of this story. But be warned, while this is a twisted fairy tale, it is not necessarily one meant for younger readers. There is a significant level of descriptive nudity & sexual content contained within.

I believe this would be an enjoyable book for those who enjoy twisted fairy tales with a harder edge to them, or anyone who prefers that their fairy tales required a more mature audience.

"Healer Mail Order Bride and her Wounded Banker" by Florence Linnington

Martha lived in Germany. When her father died, she was left alone with no way to support herself. A friend of her father's placed an ad for her in a mail order bride catalog in the United States. She had just about given up hope when she received a letter from Luke McIver wanting to bring her to America to marry him. Unfortunately, that which seems too good to be true, often is.

When she arrived in the small town of Copperun only able to speak or understand a few words of English, she was directed to find Mr. McIver in the saloon. It turned out he was running the same con as he had in the past, inviting a woman to come and marry him, but instead forcing her to work as a scantily clad saloon girl and entertain the male customers. 

But once Martha began to understand what he expected her to do, she fled from the saloon leaving her few possessions behind. Fortunately she was rescued by Alexander, a man who was working to open a bank in the nearby town of Evergreen. Not being able to understand each other, he nevertheless realized she needed help and took her back to the hotel in Evergreen, where he knew she would find the help she needed.

As with Ms. Linnington’s other books in the series, I enjoyed this story. I was a little concerned at first when it began with a very similar plot device as an earlier book in the series. But from that point on it took a very different path. 

I enjoyed watching the main characters struggle to learn each other's language and seeing Martha find a place and a purpose that she had never dreamed of as being remotely possible. And as always, I enjoyed the expected ending to the book.

Anyone who enjoys mail order bride stories or stories written by Ms. Linnington would likely enjoy this book as well.

"A Groom for Carrie" by Marie Higgins

After most of the town's men died in an unexpected blizzard, the town's pastor had made it clear that the women all needed to either remarry or move elsewhere. From the letters they received after the town placed an advertisement in a matrimonial times, Carrie Porter chose to accept the proposal from Dr. Hamilton, as the town desperately needed a doctor. 

However after their wedding, she learned that he no longer intended to practice medicine, but instead planned on being a farmer. It also turned out that he was someone she'd known and been tormented by as a child. 

This was an interesting book to read. The characters had a lot to work through on their way to learning how to trust and care for each other. And as was to be expected, the journey wasn't an easy one. I enjoyed watching the characters work through their emotions and personal issues. Like most mail order bride stories, it is the emotional trials of the characters that is the most interesting.

As the second book that I've read in the Blizzard Brides series, I found this to be an enjoyable book. I believe that anyone who enjoys a good mail order bride story will like this one. It is a very quick read, but is also a nice, relaxing story.

"Goddesses Inc." By Autumn Bardot

Four immortal Goddesses are summoned to meet with Shee, their boss. The four women find themselves declared irrelevant and no longer needed in the modern world and suddenly find themselves fired. None of them even knew a goddess could be fired!

Mortal, they are now faced with all the needs, risks, and requirements of a mortal life. How will they support themselves?

What skills do they really have to survive in the modern world? What can an ancient ex-goddess even really do?

I loved reading this book. Mythology and history have always interested me, and this book combines both in a way that has you rooting for the 4 women who had & lost everything they thought was important, and needed to reinvent themselves in a modern world.  Watching them grow from shallow & relatively thoughtless to kind, thoughtful, and caring individuals was very enjoyable and cheered my day. 

I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys mythology and stories where the characters have to find ways to begin over again unexpectedly and without the advantages they never expected to be without.