Monthly Archives: April 2018

Midnight Wolf (Shifters Unbound, #11) by Jennifer Ashley

Midnight Wolf (Shifters Unbound, #11)Midnight Wolf by Jennifer Ashley
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Title: Midnight Wolf
Author: Jennifer Ashley
Series: Shifters Unbound, #11
Pages: 336
Publisher: Berkley
Date: April 24, 2018

Summary:

Angus Murray, bouncer for a New Orleans Shifter bar, is sent to round up an elusive, Collar-less Shifter woman, Tamsin Calloway, who is causing trouble for Shifter Bureau, and possesses information they want. If Angus refuses, he risks losing his cub. He finds Tamsin but she’s slippery and not about to be rounded up quietly.

In fact, quiet is nothing Tamsin will ever be. She leads Angus on a wild chase, but he’s determined to bring her in to save his son.

Can Tamsin convince Angus she’s worth helping before she’s locked away by Shifter Bureau, Collared, or perhaps killed?

Review:

This eleventh installment of what I call the “collared shifters” series is wonderful. It included a couple of my favorite characters from previous books: Zane and Tiger. They both had important parts but they did not overshadow the primary characters at all.

Generally when reading a book, I either really like one character or another. In Midnight Wolf, I loved them both. Angus is a collared wolf shifter, who through no fault of his own, lost his mate and his job as second in his Shiftertown. The only thing that brings him any joy is his cub Ciaran.

And Ciaran is the reason I adore Angus. He loves his cub so much and will do anything to protect him and make sure he is safe and happy. He is a wonderful father and does not let his problems affect his son’s life.

And then there’s Tamsin. Tamsin, who can find joy no matter what.

Tamsin, who is a new type of shifter. At least everyone thinks she is.

SPOILER ALERT: small ONE

You find this out in the first chapter anyway, so not really a spoiler.

Tamsin is a fox shifter. No one, including the other shifters, knew her type existed. As far as she knows, there are no other fox shifters left after her father died.

Tamsin is on the run and has been since she was very young. She is not collared and can normally pass as human. Unfortunately, someone at the Shifter Bureau has found out about her and about a secret she knows involving Angus’ dead brother. They want her captured alive, but don’t plan to leave her alive for long.

So, of course, Angus is sent to find and capture her.

I can’t say much more without real spoilers, but this is an exciting book. There are really bad guys and really good guys. New characters are introduced that I cannot wait to see again in later books.

And there is a romance. If any two people deserve a happily-ever-after, it is Angus and Tamsin. Since this book is a paranormal romance, they do get there happy ending and it was wonderful. This book just made me feel good.

Oddly enough, I normally state unequivocally that series books should be read in order. There are a number of references to backstories in this book, so it would be better to read the rest of the series first. However, Midnight Wolf does a better job than most as a standalone novel.

I rarely give a book five stars, but this one deserves every star. Tamsin and Angus are wonderful characters and I am glad they found each other.

This book was sent to me by the publisher in return for an honest review.

View all my reviews

Advertisement

1 Comment

Filed under Paranormal, Romance

Why Kill the Innocent (Sebastian St. Cyr, #13) by C. S. Harris

Why Kill the Innocent (Sebastian St. Cyr, #13)Why Kill the Innocent by C.S. Harris
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Title: Why Kill the Innocent
Author: C. S. Harris
Series: Sebastian St. Cyr, #13
Pages: 368
Publisher: Berkley
Date: April 3, 2018

Summary:

In the newest mystery from the national bestselling author of Where the Dead Lie, a brutal murder draws Sebastian St. Cyr into the web of the royal court, where intrigue abounds and betrayal awaits.

London, 1814. As a cruel winter holds the city in its icy grip, the bloody body of a beautiful young musician is found half-buried in a snowdrift. Jane Ambrose’s ties to Princess Charlotte, the only child of the Prince Regent and heir presumptive to the throne, panic the palace, which moves quickly to shut down any investigation into the death of the talented pianist. But Sebastian St. Cyr, Viscount Devlin, and his wife Hero refuse to allow Jane’s murderer to escape justice.

Untangling the secrets of Jane’s world leads Sebastian into a maze of dangerous treachery where each player has his or her own unsavory agenda and no one can be trusted. As the Thames freezes over and the people of London pour onto the ice for a Frost Fair, Sebastian and Hero find their investigation circling back to the palace and building to a chilling crescendo of deceit and death . . .

Review:

I cannot believe there are thirteen books in this series. I have been reading them since shortly after the first was released and they just get better and better. Just a warning though: if ever there was a series that HAS to be read in order, this is it. Fortunately, they are so good, you’ll love them all.

Anyway, Why Kill the Innocent – (all of these books have the best titles) – takes place roughly a year after the previous book. Hero, St. Cyr’s wife, literally stumbles over a dead body in the snow. Although, someone has tried to make it look like the victim died accidentally, it was definitely murder . . . but why?

As always, these books focus on Sebastian St. Cyr’s desire to find justice for murder victims and he doesn’t care whether they are well-born or commoners. He also doesn’t try to stop Hero from assisting him in the investigation. Due to her family connections, her contacts are often better than his anyway.

There were so many possibilities for the murderer in this book that I was completely lost . . . and so was Sebastian. He kept saying he knew he was missing a critical piece of information. Once it came to light, I still didn’t know the solution but it made perfect sense when explained.

One of the things I really liked about this book is the extent of historical detail involved. The murder happened in 1814 during one of the harshest winters London ever experienced. There was a killing fog and the Thames froze hard enough that a fair was held on the ice. Prinny was in power although he was not yet king. He was deservedly hated by his people who were starving in the streets. His daughter and heir Charlotte was kept a virtual prisoner in her home and he had tried to have his wife, Charlotte’s mother, executed for infidelity.

A lot of the historical fiction I have read takes place when Prinny was young and loved by England’s citizens. This book gave me an entirely different perspective of the type of person he became.

If you enjoy an intense murder mystery with a wonderful sense of England’s history, I highly recommend these books. JUST BE SURE AND READ THEM IN ORDER.

This book was sent to me by NetGalley in return for an honest review.

View all my reviews

Leave a comment

Filed under Historical, Mystery