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<i>This eBook was provided by one of the authors in exchange for an honest review

Chronology </i>is a large anthology of stories published at the beginning of 2015 by Curiosity Quills Press. Twenty-Four of Curiosity Quill’s greatest authors feature in this lengthy book providing stacks of entertainment for a wide audience. The stories vary in length and genre, however the most common themes are steampunk and the paranormal.

Males and females alike can enjoy the stories featured in <i>Chronology</i>, although not all the tales will appeal to personal tastes. Although the majority contains scientific or supernatural elements, there are other themes combined with them, for example romance and history. On the other hand you can be sure to expect werewolves, mermaids, demons, ghosts and the undead.

It is difficult to review the whole book in general, as there were some stories I liked and others that did not hold my attention. This, I expect, will be the case for many, if not all, readers. One story, or novella – it was rather lengthy – that I particularly enjoyed was <i>Wind-Up Hearts</i> by Stan Swanson. Containing numerous themes – steampunk, romance, history and contemporary/future setting – I was captivated by the two key characters and their predicament. Due to having mechanical hearts, Henry and Emily have lived for well over 100 years, watched the world change around them, yet stayed friends regardless. Yet Henry yearns for something more.

The good thing about an anthology of different authors’ works is that, while you cannot love everything, you are bound to find something you enjoy. It is great for busy people or those that cannot commit to a lengthy novel; one can dip in and out, picking and choosing which story to read. Although the authors may not be widely known, it is worth giving the anthology a chance. You may find a new author whose writing is perfect for you.
  
Ghost Moon (The Wolfborne Saga #4)
Ghost Moon (The Wolfborne Saga #4)
Cheree Alsop | 2019 | Paranormal, Young Adult (YA)
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Ghost Moon is the fourth book in The Wolfborne Saga and we continue with Zev's story. Isley doesn't feature in this one so I'm guessing she isn't 'the one' for Zev (for now, at least). Instead, we have Zev and the usual crew trying to clear up after the earthquake and also find reason to keep going. Virgo is especially hard hit after the events at the end of the prior book.

Now, I know I said I thought Dark Coven was the best so far, and it was... until this one. This one has just ticked all of my boxes, making me devour the whole book in one sitting.

There are many emotions in this book, some good, and some bad. I certainly feel for Zev, and for Ceren, but in different ways. I thought my heart would break with Virgo but then he had to act like a tool at the end. I know I will still like him for it in the next book, but I struggled to understand just HOW he could do that to Zev. Zev isn't Virgo's pet, to do as he wishes, and Zev's agreement was never sought. I found this to be very disappointing and so am hopeful Virgo will redeem himself soon.

As for the rest of it, you still have an amazing supporting cast, and now the werewolves aren't as many, you can see the different temperaments coming through. The pacing remains smooth and the story keeps you turning the pages.

This is definitely my favourite of the series so far but I also highly recommend reading them in order as it just won't make any sense if you don't.

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

Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
  
Playing with Fire (Magical Romantic Comedies #1)
Playing with Fire (Magical Romantic Comedies #1)
R.J. Blain | 2017 | Science Fiction/Fantasy
6
6.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
This review and more can be found at my blog
https://aromancereadersreviews.blogspot.com
A Romance Reader's Reviews

This one starts with Bailey working at the coffee shop where she makes drinks for its regular but unusual breed of customers from humans to pixies to werewolves, adding a pinch of dust to each drink to give them a high. Her nemesis, Chief Quinn, comes in and she makes him a drink before he heads out, taking her boss with him, leaving Bailey to work an 18 hour shift alone. Jealously flares within Bailey as she's had a thing for Quinn since he asked her to find proof of his wife's cheating. When Bailey is asked by Quinn's former brother-in-law to help her find someone, she's reluctant but agrees, and is handed a phone. Only the phone isn't all that it seems setting in motion a series of events that throws her into Quinn's life more than either bargained for.

I enjoyed the first 40% of this more than the latter 60%. The beginning was fun and quirky. I loved the sort of love/hate thing she had going on with Quinn. I enjoyed the banter between her and some of the other cops and it was just up my street. It just seemed their will they/won't they get together thing was concluded too early in the book and I was wondering what the rest of the book would be about. It lost some of its appeal for me after the weird Gorgon vomit scene. And then I just struggled to connect with it again. I soldiered on, determined to finish it.

I also found Quinn's family very complicated. He has almost every type of creature in his family tree from angels to incubus to gorgon but he is very much human and I couldn't keep track of who was who half of the time.

I liked it enough that I'd buy more of this series.
  
Contains spoilers, click to show
!! Spoilers !!! !! Spoilers !!!

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Shadow Witch ( Witches of Hollow Cove book 1)
Kim Richardson
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Are you ready for your next magical adventure?

Okay, so I’m in trouble. Big trouble. I’m broke. Worse, my boyfriend of five years just dumped me.

What do I do? I move in with my three eccentric aunts in their family home, Davenport House. Sounds exciting, only this massive farmhouse likes to eat men. If I were a regular human, I would have run out screaming like a banshee. As a witch—I do absolutely nothing. Hey, maybe they deserved it?

I’m back in Hollow Cove, the flamboyant paranormal community, where nymphs, werewolves, trolls, shifters, witches, and other paranormals live comfortable lives away from prying human eyes. As I settle into my new life, I decide to accept my aunts’ proposal and join the family business—the business of protecting our town and killing anything that would want to harm it.

But I’ve been away from the paranormal world for quite some time, and my magical abilities are a little bit rusty. Heck, they’re practically invisible.

Things soon spiral down the crapper when people in our community start dropping like flies. And when demons start showing up in Hollow Cove, it’s up to me to take care of them. Permanently.

Finally!!! A Gorilla shifter! One more to knock of my list of shifters wanted. This was a fun light read! I really enjoyed it after having a few heavy books. I thought the characters were fun and easy to get along with, even the ones you weren’t supposed to like so much. Ronin was my favourite and had me laughing out loud my favourite line “Well, scratch my balls and call me Beryl,” exclaimed Ronin. “The chief’s freakin’ King Kong!”
This had me laugh so much. Like I said a fun easy light read that’s actually written quite well.
  
MF
Moon Fever (Includes: Primes, #6.5)
2
5.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
This was one of those "I finished the last thing I was reading and I'm bored, what's already loaded on the iTouch?" reads. It was on there because the anthology includes [a:Lori Handeland|17060|Lori Handeland|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1236700197p2/17060.jpg]'s "Cobwebs Over the Moon" (Nightcreatures, #10) and I read all of that series a while back. I didn't care to read the rest of the anthology at the time, but I hadn't gotten around to deleting the book. Ah, happy digital packrat am I!

If I've read anything by [a:Susan Sizemore|88608|Susan Sizemore|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1254303347p2/88608.jpg] other than "Tempting Fate" (Primes #6.5), it was eminently forgettable. I'm absolutely sure that I haven't read anything else in her <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/series/41947-primes">Primes</a>; series, because I probably would have thrown said material firmly into the nearest hard surface (or whatever the equivalent is with bytes) because of the insanely annoying number of times Sizemore feels it necessary to remind us that her vampires are Primes! Alpha Primes! They are! Really! And that means they fight a lot! Especially over women! Otherwise, it's a Mary Jane story set in New Orleans. I have a strong feeling that most of the Primes series is Mary Jane-ish, but I may at some point be trapped and forced with the prospect of staring at the inside of my eyeballs or reading more of Sizemore's stuff. I'm not sure which would be worse right now. I'll get back to you on that.

"The Darkness Within" by [a:Maggie Shayne|17064|Maggie Shayne|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1215028948p2/17064.jpg] feels terribly familiar, although I'm sure I haven't read it before. I have, however, read other Shayne novellas in other anthologies, and this story follows a familiar pattern. Sexy gal who doesn't think she's attractive has had a run of hard luck and may lose the house she has bought relatively recently and loves. Said house has a spooky past that she didn't know about when she bought it. Stalwart too-sexy-for-her man gets involved somehow, preferably in a way that allows her to question his motives. They are inexplicably drawn to each other and screw like bunnies (or near as makes no difference), then blame their lapse in judgement on whatever weirdness is going on in the house. (Yep, that's what they all say - and no safer sex anywhere! Does paranormal activity preclude discussion of sexual history and prevent STD transmission?)

"Cobwebs Over the Moon" by [a:Lori Handeland|17060|Lori Handeland|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1236700197p2/17060.jpg] (<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/series/41626-nightcreature">Nightcreatures</a>;, #10) isn't the most logical entry in that series. Neither is it the most illogical - but by the tenth entry, the series' mythology has gotten a bit ridiculous, so I don't know why I even bother bringing up something as irrelevant as logic. Silly me! In every book, we're introduced to a woman who is in some way tangled up with werewolves, then to a man who is tangled up with her and/or the creatures and, of course, whose loyalties are uncertain. There is always an element of danger to add spice to the romance that has to grow between the two. The formula never changes at all. There are always evil werewolves, but sometimes there are also good ones. If you like predictability in your paranormal romance, <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/series/41626-nightcreature">Nightcreatures</a>; is a great series for you.

I suppose [a:Caridad Piñeiro|2944621|Caridad Piñeiro|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1305975476p2/2944621.jpg]'s "Crazy for the Cat" isn't technically any better or worse than any of the other three stories. There's more variety in the shapeshifting and the main setting is the Amazon jungle. I couldn't get past the bigotry and colonialism, though. Dark is bad, light is good, of course! Those poor benighted natives couldn't possibly handle a few rogues without that white woman, could they? Spare me.
  
Sweetwater (The Kihn #1)
Sweetwater (The Kihn #1)
Rivi Jacks | 2013 | Paranormal, Romance
8
8.5 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
kinda creeps up on ya!
Verified purchase December 2013

Now, I will be honest here, right up front, I only bought this book, because the author was giving away two additional books (from other authors) and it was a good deal.

Sofie returns to her childhood home, after the death of her parents. Parents who made it clear she was never wanted. Things are afoot in Sweetwater, and no one is quite sure what.

Lucas and his Hunters arrive to explain what is going on and how they are going to deal with it.

IT are the Kihn. while it isn't explained fully WHAT they are, they do get up to no good, what with a Gateway opening soon, near to Sweetwater. Sofie has knowledge of the Kihn, she has been seeing them in her dreams for years.

Enter a HUGE cast of supporting actors, witches, Wiccan, werewolves, guardian angels that only the Wiccan can see, various aunts, uncles, cousins and friends!!

The tale took a while to get going, Lucas and Sofie don't meet till almost half way through, and the blur comes with and explicit warning, which again, doesn't arrive til past half way, BUT its a good tale. Lots of interaction between all the characters, with more and MORE added along the way (this huge cast was one of the reasons it got 4 stars instead of 5, the other, the long warm up) Its a different tale and I enjoyed it. There is another planned and it will be purchased when its released, as this one ends on a bit of a cliff hanger!

I particularly liked the way Jacks throws things at you, just like that, "its the only way I know to keep them away, you know" made me go OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH what are "they"??? and how little hints get dropped along they way as to WHAT the supernatural people are. While its fairly obvious (after a time) what Lucas is, Sofie clicks in the last 3 lines of the book!

A different read, a good read, and I would recommend it!

And! It's present tense!

4 solid stars
  
Hex Hall (Hex Hall, #1)
Hex Hall (Hex Hall, #1)
Rachel Hawkins | 2010 | Fiction & Poetry
6
8.0 (12 Ratings)
Book Rating
The first thing that I found curious was that the author does not begin with when Sophie first discovers who she is, but instead begins with what incident propels her to switch to the paranormal-reject-filled boarding school, Hecate Hall - also affectionately known as "Hex Hall." The incident shows the softer side of Sophie, so it is easy to predict the choices she makes throughout the rest of the book.
Hecate Hall is similar to any other high school, just with a paranormal twist. The werewolves can still talk and walk upright, so they are not considered true shapeshifters. The fairies don't have to hide their wings, can turn into balls of light for travel, communicate through mirrors, as well as many other traditions of legend - but all seem to be pretentious snobs. The witches are divided into dark and light, and Sophie is unknowingly cast as a dark witch, though she can't guess how, which puts her in the line of fire from the other three dark witches on campus, who swing from classic "mean girls" to her best friends unpredictably. Plus, what school would be complete without the resident "hottie", whom Sophie can't help but fall for, especially since fate keeps putting the two of them together. And finally, two vampires also reside at school - though they are not considered equals - Sophie's roommate, Jenna, as well as a teacher condemned into hiding, none other than Lord Byron, the poet. While Lord Byron's role turned out to be a major disappointment, Jenna seemed to be the one with all of the secrets, even as she is repeatedly blamed for the new deaths cropping up.
Sophie is easy to like, with a fantastic sense of humor and strong moral sense. The flip-flopping emotions of the cast of characters matched the average teenager well, and made for many entertaining situations. The many surprises that saturated the plot made the book engaging, and I look forward to reading about what Sophie does with her new-found information about herself in the next book, Demonglass.
  
Stone The Crows (Wolf Winter #2)
Stone The Crows (Wolf Winter #2)
TA Moore | 2018 | Horror, LGBTQ+, Romance
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
much better read than book one!
I was gifted my copy of this book.

This is book two in the Wolf Winter series, and you probably should read book one, Dog Days, before you read this one. I didn't much care for that book, though.

This one, however, is a whole different matter!

I said in my review for Dog Days that I was left with so many questions about the Wolves, and the Prophets and what was going on. I'm STILL left with questions about what's going on, but I'm feeling better about being left waiting, you know? Does that make sense?? I still have questions, but I'm not left hanging, right? Sorta, kinda!

Nothing is settled here. The Prophets are still doing despicable things to the people and indeed to Jack and Gregor. They took Gregor's Wolf and Jack's skin. The Prophets are still trying to get the upper hand on the Gods, but it's HOW they are doing it: preying on ordinary folk, in extraordinary situations, that gives this book the horror tag I've given it.

Nick is human, but Gregor takes a shine to Nick after he saves him. I wasn't sure about Gregor, not in the beginning. we heard such horrible things about him from jack in Dog Days, and I did NOT want to like him, but he grows on you! He has that "Mine" moment you get with werewolves, and I loved that, even though he refused to admit what was going on, even to himself, it was NICK he wanted to save first, not his brother Jack.

Who the Prophet turned out to be was a bit of a shocker, and what she did to Nick was no picnic, and she's STILL out there. So there is more to come. Or at least I HOPE there is! Because you know, I still have questions!

I found this a much better read than Dog Days, and I read it in two sittings, cos that darn dayjob got in the way.

Thank you to Ms Moore for my copy.

4 solid stars

**same worded review will appear elsewhere**
  
I received an ARC edition of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.

As the title says, this is book 2 in the Eternal Mates series and as such I recommend reading Kissed by a Dark Prince first, although this is not altogether necessary.

A lunar month has passed since the end of Book 1 and during that time Sable has been dreaming of King Thorne but keeps telling herself that she isn't interested. She is aiming to be Commander in Archangel and is determined to make the mission to help King Thorne a success - but only for career options, of course! Thorne has also been dreaming of Sable and knows that she is his fated female but is at a loss on how to proceed. During which time he is also trying to find a way to stop his kingdom from being overrun and how to improve his subjects' lives (if they survive the coming battle).

Felicity Heaton has written another fantastic series that you can lose yourself in. There are aspects of most characters that you can either relate to or admire... and trust me, I did a lot of admiring of Thorne! But with elves, werewolves, dragons and vampires there is someone there to interest everyone. And I just have to say that I love how the Vampire Erotique Theatre makes a show (another fantastic series if you haven't read it yet).

This book has everything from shapeshifters, vampires, demons (obviously) to war, battles, portals and angels. It is a book to immerse yourself in and not come up for air until you've finished it. Claimed by a Demon King is smoking hot and if Thorne is inexperienced, then all the angels in heaven won't be able to help Sable once he gets some experience under his belt! A perfect blend of innocence and pure, unadulterated male who has found his match in Sable. May the gods help Hell, because with this pair, anything is possible.

Highly recommended for all fans of Paranormal Romance and Felicity Heaton.

http://archaeolibrarianologist.blogspot.de/2014/02/claimed-by-demon-king-eternal-mates-2.html