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Balance (Matefinder #3)
Balance (Matefinder #3)
Leia Stone | 2016 | Science Fiction/Fantasy
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
136 of 250
Kindle
Balance ( Matefinder book 3)
By Leia Stone

Once read a review will be written via Smashbomb and link posted in comments

Ever since Kai revealed the supernatural race to the humans, riots and chaos have reigned down on Mount Hood. Aurora is going crazy just sitting around and waiting for Layla to show up so that Aurora can finish her task and kill her, bringing peace to her pack. Kai does everything in his power to keep Aurora safe and confined on the heavily guarded mountain. But he should know that no one can really keep Aurora from the things she wants in life. She is determined to find Layla and end this war, forever. But at what cost?


I have enjoyed this series so much! The last book did not disappoint it was full of emotion and strong women! I love the was Leia writes here supernaturals they are just so refreshing. Can’t wait to be reading more from the spin off series excited to see what the next Generation brings!
  
His Forbidden Obsession
His Forbidden Obsession
Silvia Violet | 2025 | Contemporary, LGBTQ+, Romance
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
HIS FORBIDDEN OBSESSION is the first book in the Forbidden Mafia series. Although this is the first book in this series, I believe it's a spin-off series, and so has other characters, plus family relationships, in it that I don't know.

Niko is the sweet, innocent in all of this, with a secret submissive side that comes out to play with Lorenzo. Lorenzo is the protective grump who is more than happy to show Niko just exactly what he wants and what Niko enjoys.

Add to this a not-so-nice(!!!) couple of families, plus the family that Lorenzo works for, and you have a fast-paced Mafia romance full of action and wanting what shouldn't happen.

I thoroughly enjoyed this story, but I do wish I had read the other series first. Definitely recommended by me.

** Same worded review will appear elsewhere. **

* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book; the comments here are my honest opinion. *

Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Oct 9, 2025
  
Slayers (a Buffyverse story)
Slayers (a Buffyverse story)
5
5.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Spin-off/continuation of the late90s/early 2000s TV show 'Buffy The Vampire Slayer', with several of the cast - most noticeably James Marster's Spike and Charisma Carpenter's Cordelia - returning to their roles, alongside some noticeable absences (Buffy, Willow, Xander ...).

In Marvel terms, it's basically a multiverse story, with a large part of the story set in an alternate universe where Buffy was never the Slayer at all, and where the insane (or is she?) vampire Drusilla is still one of the main 'big bad' faced by the - in this universe, sole (unlike in the main universe, following the end of the TV series) - Slayer, Cordelia Chase.

As an audio drama, I have to say I found this to perhaps err on over-explanation of what is going on: lots of characters saying out-loud what they, or their opponents, are doing "I've just dusted a vampire" (for example), rather than the same being suggested by sound effects, or being left to the listener to fill in the blanks. For me, there's a bit too much of the former going on.
  
    Radiology - Head

    Radiology - Head

    Medical and Education

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    Discover 3D4Medical’s latest educational & reference tool – Radiology (Head). This app is a...

The Chosen (Black Dagger Brotherhood #15)
The Chosen (Black Dagger Brotherhood #15)
J.R. Ward | 2017 | Romance, Science Fiction/Fantasy
4
7.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
Blehc. Definitely not Ward's best...
Contains spoilers, click to show
Yechk. I honestly did not care for 90% of this book. The whole thing kind of pissed me off really.

Although, in general, I love the BDB books and the characters in those books (with only a few exceptions), this one was just... blah. There were really no sympathetic characters that made me want to read forward or 'root' for them. Xcor is semi-relatable with his awful upbringing, but he is kind of like a rip-off of V and Z, so there's no real flair there.

 Quinn goes off the damned deep end and kinda makes you hate him.

Blay's hurt feelings and arguments make sense, I guess. He is really the only character I understood in this book.

V is all emo lonely, woe-is-me, should I or shouldn't I cheat?! and that is nothing if not hella boring.

And. DO. NOT. Get. Me. Started. On. Fucking. Layla. Her whole story arc just infuriates me. I mean, seriously? And she can't even understand why Quinn is so furious? Oh, and, you are told you're to leave your kids because you endangered them by being with a murderous traitor, and the FIRST THING you do is hunt down said murderous traitor and move him into your place?! Really? No matter how Ward wants to spin it, you are a horrible freaking mother, and you absolutely do not deserve to be around your kids ever again. Let me lose my son over a man? I would NEVER see that man again unless it was to cut his sac off to prove we were done and try to get my kid back. ...eye roll... Seriously, she's the worst.

The sideplot with Tres and Trez? Waaaaay too fairy tale, happy ending that honestly? Seems like a way for Ward to backtrack and try to appease fans that were irate at how "The Shadows" ended and also, it went nowhere, fell flat, and seemed waaay superfluous.

The Tohr/Xcor "twist"? At this point in the series... pretty predictable Ward behavior.

Really, the only interesting bit of this book were the 10 pages or so involving Lassiter's new gig in what is SEEMINGLY leading up to the actual defeat of the Omega, which I assume will also signal the end of the books. I never thought I'd say this, but maybe that's a good thing. Ward is truly off her game lately, and the BDB is getting a bit stale. Maybe it's time for an ending.
  
Lover Eternal (Black Dagger Brotherhood, #2)
Lover Eternal (Black Dagger Brotherhood, #2)
J.R. Ward | 2006 | Fiction & Poetry
8
9.0 (14 Ratings)
Book Rating
First off, I enjoyed this book much more than the first book. I was familiar with the background, so I did not need to take time to understand everything, and I was already familiar with the main characters of the brotherhood, so I knew who I liked and wanted to know more about.
This book focused on Rhage and his love interest, Mary. Rhage is the one nicknamed "Hollywood" for both his good looks and promiscuous behavior. That, plus the violent habits of the brotherhood allow him to keep the dragon-like beast inside in check, but the appearance of Mary puts a new spin on an old curse. Just like the theme in the first book, the desire to claim Mary for his wife changes Rhage permanently - I detect a commonality throughout the series with this theme.
Rhage has a very frank and forward way of communicating, which I like, though it can sometimes throw me off in the reading. Mary sometimes got quite annoying with how low her self-image is. The way that the book ends and how the Scribe Virgin plays into Rhage and Mary's romance seemed a bit out of place and over-compensating, but it did cause things to work out well, so I won't complain.
The subplot of the lessers also progresses with the introduction of a secondary character under Mr. X, a Mr. O who seems to resent being a lesser and possesses a weakness. This, combined with a subplot dedicated to the brother, Zsadist, leads into the next book in the series, Lover Awakened.
  
AF
Awaiting Fate (Fated Immortals, #1)
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
I loved this so much. I read this one not realizing it was a spin off from another series, but it wasn't necessary to read the other series first even though I do have a feeling I would understand some of the characters more if I had. However, it is NOT needed at all. Cain is so hott. He is a demon, he is sexy, and when he turns demon so much yummy. He has insecurities and jealousy. He loves his mate so much but is worried she won't want or need him so he takes his time. Olivia is amazing. She is so strong but thinks she isn't. She was sheltered because of her fear and needing her brother so much. She falls for Cain who is a demon and she is a werewolf so she isn't supposed to love a demon. They both have to work through so much just to be together including his issues and her brother. This is an amazing start to this series and thanks to reading this one I now need to read the other series before this one. I highly recommend this book if you love paranormal romance.
  
AT
Aliens: The Female War
4
4.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
The third book in Dark Horse's spin-off series of novels and comics to include Billie and Wilks, this also throws Ripley into the mix, and finishes the story first began in [b:Aliens: Earth Hive|343281|Aliens Earth Hive|Steve Perry|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1366133734s/343281.jpg|333628] and continued in [b:Aliens: Nightmare Asylum|20873|Aliens Nightmare Asylum|Steve Perry|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1388857061s/20873.jpg|22061]. Wheres the 1979 film 'Alien' had a single Alien stalking the crew of the Nostromo after they picked up the transmission, with the 1986 film 'Aliens' then introducing the concept of the Alien Queen, this extrapolates even further than that with the introduction of an Alien Queen Mother providing the deus ex machina for the plot.

Talking of the plot: this is maybe a bit slower than those previous two novels, with more emphasis on character development (I know, I know: is such a thing even possible in these types of books?).

As before, not going to set the literary world alight nor win any awards, but an enjoyable enough quick diversion for a day or two.