True Rising: Mark of the Defenders by Tanishq Sheikh

Blurb

“I will get you someday,” the voice whispers its macabre promise, “Someday you will sleep too deep, some day you will dream too far…”

What if you grew up being haunted by a mean, vengeful spirit? But what if it isn’t a spirit? What if it is something more sinister, something ancient?

What if it’s an entity ordained by your bloodline?

Prisha’s past is but a memory and her teen years mark the beginning of her life’s intriguing journey. At seventeen, she meets the suave and sensuous Ajaz

Markos. His whiskey eyes and killer smile are enough to melt her heart and break it. Their desire for each other is mutual, as is their love until he casts

her aside.

Prisha leans on her best friend Nik to mend her broken heart. But neither know that she’s a danger to him and their future together. Then Ajaz is back

and it isn’t coincidence.

Prisha and Ajaz are older, wiser and thrown together as part of a larger, Machiavellian plan. Armed with mystical powers, they must fight indestructible

entities and face their legacies to save an innocent life. One thing Prisha knows for sure, her bloodline is both a boon and a curse.

But how will she defeat the most powerful force of them all? What price will she have to pay? Will Prisha and Ajaz come out of the ultimate battle of their

lives unscathed? Will she rise to protect what’s hers?

Review

I want more! This novel was written well. It had all the characteristics of what I love in a book. There was love, heartbreak, evil entities, action, and it was unpredictable.

Most of this novel takes place in India, though, the characters do live in America for a period of time. In the beginning, we learn about the main character Prisha’s early years and her first experiences with an Unknown spirit. Then, the novel brings us through her teen years and into adulthood. There are two love interests, Ajaz and Nick, who are both great men that are easy to fall in love with. Since the novel covers the span of Prisha’s live into late adult hood, you get to read about two romances. There are parts of the novel that made me cry, laugh, and exclaim and surprise. I would recommend this to anyone that loves romance that is interwoven with supernatural interferences.

Unbreakable Bond (Fated Mates Duet Book 1) By Jess Bryant KU

Blurb

Sometimes fate gets it all wrong.

Zoey Kent has lived with that fact ever since she turned eighteen and learned that the man she loved could never be hers. He’s a born shifter, a wolf,

and she’s a mere human. Fate doesn’t care if on paper they’re a perfect pair. She isn’t his fated mate and she’s resigned herself to the knowledge that

someday, she’ll have to watch Michael mate with another. It’s never crossed her mind that there might be someone else out there for her, that she would

be the one to mate another, to choose another over everything she’s ever known or wanted.

Sometimes fate gets it all right.

Rafe Hudson left his pack behind years ago. Physically and mentally scarred from an attack that left his parents and twin dead, he walked away from his

responsibilities as Alpha. He never intended to return but lone wolf or not, he can’t leave Michael open to an attack he’s learned is coming for his only

brother. What he didn’t know was that going home would mean scenting his mate, the one person in the world that could make him whole again, that could

give him everything he thought he’d lost. His pack, his home and his family.

But fate always has a plan.

There’s no way Michael’s brother is her future, is there? Just like there’s no way that the girl his brother has loved since they were kids, was always

meant to be his, right?

Only fate knows why they were brought together but there is one thing for sure, the sparks between Zoey and Rafe are undeniable. The bond between them

is unbreakable. And together… they’ll change the face of the pack forever.

Review

This book is so awesome that I had to read it twice! I’m sure that everyone has that “feel good” read. It’s a book you can reread when you’re in a particular mood. I know that in my case, it helped me escape the monotony of staying home. I love this book for several reasons. The first one is the lack of bone chilling horror. It isn’t a dark fantasy with heads being boiled, but there are a few fight scenes that are enough to keep a fantasy fan like me excited. It also has a romance that is unexpected by both characters.

You have Zoey, who is a human that was adopted by a shifter couple. She spends the beginning of the book thinking about Michael, her best friend, and alpha of the pack. Despite longing for one another, the pair still manages to be friends. A relationship between them is hopeless, since they are not fated mates. Rafe on the other hand is broken for a good reason. Rafe was the rightful alpha of his brother Michael’s pack, who vanished after the death of his twin brother and his parents. He holds on to guilt that kept him away from the pack for years.

Naturally, Michael tries to prevent Rafe from claiming his soulmate, but Zoey fights for the man that belongs to her. Thank goodness, she’s a female lead with a back bone. This is a shifter romance, so there is instalove, steam, dialogue, and testosterone. The side characters are interesting. The threat to the pack does reveal himself, and he is handled in the second novel, which I have also read and enjoyed.

If you’re looking for a new adult novel that has steam, love, and hot werewolves, this is the book for you!

Korrigan (Secrets Of The Fae #1) By Rebecca F. Kenney KU

Blurb

A girl at night, a caged monster during the day. Aislinn has lived in darkness as long as she can remember. She is Korrigan— and only by Life-Stealing can she keep her human shape from dawn to dusk. When she finally steps into the sunlight, the first person she sees is Zane. He’s everything she wants— handsome, sweet, and normal.
But an encounter with the Far Darrig, the malevolent trickster of Old Irish myth, changes Aislinn’s future. He opens a new realm of possibilities that are anything but normal— and with them, brings dreams and desires as dangerous as he is.
Above all, Aislinn craves choice— the right to decide her own path. But what if gaining power for herself means giving up something much more precious?

Review

Wow! I finished this book in one day. I am hooked and can’t wait to read the next book in this series. So this young adult book focuses on Aislinn, who is a 17-year-old girl who lives with five shady, uncaring guardians. All of the Korrigan are cursed, forced to pay a price, in order to go out in the day. I won’t spoil that part, since that will ruin some of the book. But let me just say, the curse on the Korrigan is truly horrible. So, once Aislinn is able to walk around in the day, she meets Zane, a handsome guy who is sweet, kind, and good. Of course her guardians aren’t thrilled with her making friends with humans. In fact, most of the women that Aislinn lives with, treats her like she is a bother. She is often times controlled and ridiculed. Aislinn also has nasty nightmares and is being harassed by the fae. When you find out the real reason why Aislinn and her guardians were cursed, you’ll be shocked. There is sort of a confusing love triangle that goes on. I like how it’s resolved in the first book. Aislinn also has to decide if she will walk down the path of good or evil. I would recommend this to anyone that enjoys an all-consuming paranormal romance about the fae.

Gnotret (The Accidental Heroes Chronicles #1) by S.E. Cyborski

Blurb

While he doesn’t like the sound of the experimental drug trial his girlfriend Amy Veksler found a flyer for on campus, George Ormond still lets himself be persuaded to join it. He, Amy, and three other students go to a warehouse where Doctor Adam Carnesby, the biology professor who’s running the study, has everything set up for the month long trial. Everything seems to be going well even though all five of the students become sick for a week after their first injections. At the start of the second week, they all recover, feeling better than ever. Then, they start to discover that there were more side effects to the drug than just a cold.

Review

Attention to all of the super hero lovers in the world, this is the read for you! During this pandemic, I’ve tried to find books that can bring me to another location. This author does a great job of making the reader feel like the characters are all real people. Everyone has their clear traits, and friendships have been made. George is what a guy would call “whipped.” But I feel that he would do anything to keep his hot girlfriend. Amy is outgoing, but through no fault of her own, becomes annoying after the trials begin. Then, we have my favorite character, Billy, who is smart, quiet, and powerful in his own way. Sandra is ambitious, while Michael is the party boy. The plot is that kind of plot that is safe enough that you don’t need tissues, but unpredictable in the way that digging into a box of chocolates is. I did not see the end coming. I mean, I thought that this would be like most super hero books. But guys be warned, this book doesn’t follow all of the same plot lines as every other book. I think anyone looking for a fast pace read will enjoy it.

Gnotret (The Accidental Heroes Chronicles #1) by S.E. Cyborski KU

Blurb

Review

Blood Debt by Nancy Straight PF

Blurb

Her whole life, it had just been the two of them. Before her mother’s last breath, she gave Camille the information she had craved her entire life: the identity of her father. Daring to contact him, Camille was welcomed by an entire family she never knew existed. But nothing comes without a price, as she discovers when her family claims a legendary heritage tracing back to a Centaur touched by Zeus.

As she learns the secrets of her Centaur bloodline, she is drawn into a forbidden love with Drake. Her family acknowledges her life may be the blood debt required to pay for her mother’s transgressions. The same person who once held her mother captive, and forced her into decades of hiding, now controls Camille. Her only chance is to seek a piece of her mother’s past that will win her freedom and the life she desperately desires.

Review

Let me start off by saying, wow! I will happily give this book five stars. It was so intriguing that I was compelled to read the next book. So, the main character Camille, isn’t a docile wimpy person, which I’m grateful for. I’m glad that there is no shrinking violet in a mythological romance novel. She’s relatable and refreshing. Drake comes off as stiff and odd in the beginning, but he grows on the reader. Some of the side characters are likable, and after a while, I began hoping for the best. But Camile’s best friend Daniel was irritating at first. But he does get better.

I’ll try not to spoil too much. But let me just tell you that Camille’s grandmother is nuts. Her meddling was reminiscent of how parents

back in the Victorian days would impose their will on their disobedient daughters. Camille’s newly discovered family aren’t as over baring, and her step mother actually doesn’t hate her. But the world of the centaurs desperately needs reform. Women are scarce in their world, and Camille has to pay a debt to a man that her mother jilted. Camille will either have to marry the man’s son, or pay with her life. And because it is a romance, Camille falls in love with a man that she isn’t supposed to want.

All of the characters are over eighteen, but the vibe hovers between new and young adult. There are no graphic love scenes, and no strong profanity. The chemistry between Camille and Drake jump s off the page.

https://books.apple.com/us/book/blood-debt-touched-series-book-1/id572317877