Day: January 1, 2021

Review: Eagle in the Hawthorn (The Rowan Harbor Cycle #7) by Sam Burns

A great way to end Devon and Wade’s romance.

5 out of 5 stars

E-book. Kindle Unlimited. 153 pages. Published February 14th 2019

Blurb:

Rowan Harbor has had a tough winter, and Devon Murphy wants nothing more than to make it better. When he proposes a solution to the town’s low morale, it creates a rift in his relationship with his boyfriend, Wade. They’ve hardly ever argued, and when things get tense, Devon has no idea how to handle it.

But an evil presence in his town targets the people Devon loves, he has to put his personal worries aside and face danger down again. Will he be able to protect his town, and if he can, will Wade be waiting for him when it’s done? 

Likes:

  • Much more exciting than Devon’s last book.
  • Devon tops.
  • Hot smut.
  • Unexpected arrivals.
  • Devon has really come into his powers.
  • Oak’s birthday party.
  • A good ending to Devon and Wade’s story.

Dislikes:

  • The rift between Devon and Wade happened because Devon was an idiot.
  • The way Devon took care of the new bad guy was quick and lacked impact.

This book is a little hard to review because so much of what happened in it isn’t mentioned explicitly in the blurb, and I don’t want to spoil anything. But what I can say is that this was a sweet ending to Devon and Wade’s romance.

Devon and Wade have had a relatively smooth relationship. So I was a little surprised when Devon put his foot in his mouth and got Wade mad. Devon isn’t the most romantic guy, but even he should have seen that what he was suggesting was insensitive. I’ve never thought of Devon as stupid, but he came across as an oblivious idiot.

Luckily, Devon realized that he had to make things right again, even if he didn’t fully understand Wade’s point of view. It led to some sweet moments, and brought their romance to a satisfying end. Plus, Devon topped for the first time. I love a good smut scene, and I have to say, it was hot.

As with the previous two trilogies in the series, there’s a new bad guy. Everything that’s happening to the town is still building off the previous books, and it’s nice to see how everything that’s come before is tied together. I get the feeling that the series will be nicely wrapped up by the end of the last book.

I was a little disappointed at how quickly and simply Devon dealt with the bad guy. Blink and you’ll miss it. It lacked both impact and buildup. Despite that, this book was much more exciting than Devon’s last book.

A couple of surprising characters appeared. They added a lot to Devon’s personal story. It was fitting, given that this was Devon’s last book. It gave him closure in his personal life, as well as showing off how much he’s grown into his powers. Even though Devon still has the occasional urge to run away, he’s connected to Rowan Harbor now, and has really become part of the town.

I especially loved Oak’s birthday party. It was sweet, and brought together all of the main characters for a bit of fun in a way that mirrored the beginning of the book. I get the feeling that no one will have much time for partying in the next two books, so it was a nice break for them.

Check out my rave reviews for the rest of the series Blackbird in the Reeds (The Rowan Harbor Cycle #1), Wolf and the Holly (The Rowan Harbor Cycle #2), Fox and Birch (The Rowan Harbor Cycle #3), Hawk in the Rowan (The Rowan Harbor Cycle #4), Succubus and the City (The Rowan Harbor Cycle #4.5), Stag and the Ash (The Rowan Harbor Cycle #5), Adder and Willow (The Rowan Harbor Cycle #6), as well as Sam Burns’s collaboration with W.M. Fawkes on Poisonwood (Poisonwood & Lyric #1).

Review: How to Vex a Vampire (VRC: Vampire Related Crimes #1) by Alice Winters

A good start to a new series, with lots of snark.

4 out of 5 stars

E-book. Kindle Unlimited. 360 pages. Published February 18th 2020

Blurb:

Finn
Getting into the vampire-only detective unit was the easy part; what’s going to be more difficult is dealing with my new partner, an ancient vampire who keeps threatening to eat me. The unit has never had a human in it, and Marcus—or as I like to call him, Fangy McFangface—would really prefer to keep it that way. He’s grumpy, short-tempered, and broody, but I have a way with words and I know he’s starting to like me, even if he swears he’s not. But what he doesn’t know is that I didn’t join the unit because I was tired of being a homicide detective, I joined because there is someone after me. They’ve already taken enough from me and I’m afraid they’re going to take all of me if I don’t find someone to help. That’s all Marcus was supposed to be, but now, he’s so much more and I can’t imagine my life without him.

Marcus
The moment the pesky human walked through that door, I knew I had to get rid of him. He’s charming and almost everyone else instantly loves him, but he doesn’t understand how risky it is being part of this unit as a human. But as I get to know the stubborn man, I learn that perhaps he’s not as naive as I once thought. And maybe he’s what I needed to realize there is more to life than just work and my dog. A group arises who is threatening to disrupt the alliance between the humans and the vampires, but Finn is the one who shows me how strong that alliance can be and reminds me why it’s worth protecting. When threats hit closer to home, I realize I would do anything for Finn because he’s brought so much joy to my life—and because he’s mine.

This 105k word book contains: A creative use for undergarments, unintentional splits, a wolfhound who just wants to be a part of things, a vertically challenged human who still manages to wrap every vampire he meets around his little finger, the best date ever, possessiveness, really awkward dancing, some workplace revenge, and just a bite or two. Or three. 

Likes:

  • Snark.
  • Finn is an amputee.
  • Hooked me fast.
  • Good mystery of who Finn is afraid of.
  • Both Finn and Marcus were fun characters.
  • The romance was enjoyable.
  • The smut was good.
  • Artie.
  • Good side characters.
  • Interesting non-romantic plot.

Dislikes:

  • Marcus’s personality didn’t seem as defined as Finn’s.
  • Marcus was a pain in the ass sometimes.
  • The final fight scene was anticlimactic.
  • Not as good as some of the other Alice Winters books I’ve read.
  • The non-romantic plot felt like it dragged on.

There is a downside to really liking an author’s works – not everything will be as good. And while I did enjoy this book, it wasn’t as good as Happy Endings or A Supervillain for Christmas.

The snark was on point, which I’ve come to expect from Alice Winters. Finn had the kind of personality where he can really grate on people, until he finally wears them down and they begin to like him. He was definitely my favorite character, but Marcus was good as well.

I think my main issue with Marcus was that his character didn’t feel as defined as Finn’s did. For as old as he was, I expected a little more maturity, but he acted about the same age as Finn. At one point, Finn described Marcus as grumpy and sassy, which is a strange combination. Marcus could also be a major pain in the ass. The only reason he didn’t become unlikeable was because he never managed to get under Finn’s skin.

I enjoyed watching Finn and Marcus get to know each other. They weren’t exactly enemies at the beginning, but they got along about as well as oil and water. One of the great things about Finn was that he not only challenged all of Marcus’s assumptions about humans, but actively proved them wrong.

Finn is a double amputee, and I always like seeing different kinds of people in my romance. Better yet, his prosthetics played a crucial role in the story. It wasn’t like in the Merrychurch Mysteries series where Mike’s prosthetic foot was barely ever mentioned. Finn has a great quote about how he feels about his prosthetics – “I have so many emotions wrapped around these stupid things that sometimes even I get confused.”

Despite both men getting sections with their point of view, Finn felt more like the main character. He’s got a lot going on in his life to start with, and joining the VRC only added to it. I liked the mystery surrounding his past and the mysterious ‘him’ he was afraid of. But there was one downside. Between the romance, the side plot surrounding Finn’s past, and the non-romantic policework plot, there was a lot in this book. The policework plot was interesting, but sometimes it felt like it was really dragging out.

If I have one major complaint about this book, it was the final fight scene. It was over really fast and felt very anticlimactic. To be fair, the final fight was only with a smaller level boss. The man who hurt Finn is still out there.

Lastly, I have to give a shout out to some great side characters. This is an area where Alice Winters excels. Artie the dog was amazing, and the other vampires working at the VRC turned out great. I am looking forward to getting to Karsyn’s story soon.

Be sure to check out my reviews for the other books in the series, How to Elude a Vampire (VRC: Vampire Related Crimes #2) and How to Lure a Hunter (VRC: Vampire Related Crimes #3).