What I read:

Seasons of Sorcery by Jennifer Estep, Grace Draven, Amanda Bouchet, and Jeffe Kennedy
Fantasy Anthology
November 13, 2018 by Brightlynx Publishing

Winter’s Web by Jennifer Estep

This novella is part of the Elemental Assassins series and features Gin Blanco aka The Spider. Gin and crew are headed to the Ren Faire appropriately named Winter’s Web. They are there because Owen won tickets, which somehow turned into them each volunteering their services. But what is supposed to be an enjoyable day will soon turn bloody when Owen goes missing and Gin has to take on a pirate queen and her giant bodyguards to save him.

This is very much a typical Gin Blanco story. Barbeque, bloody battles, bad guys getting theirs in the end and all. I love this series and am always up for a break with Gin, Owen, Finn and the rest the gang. If you aren’t already a follower of the Elemental Assassin series you might be a bit lost. I think you can read Winter’s Web as a standalone, but you won’t get as much enjoyment out of it. Final Grade-B

A Wilderness of Glass by Grace Draven

This lovely novella is part of the Wraith Kings world and connected with the story, Night Tide, with was featured in the Teeth, Long and Sharp anthology. If you haven’t read Night Tide, you really should. It’s an excellent story and I’ve heard rumors that we will see two of its main protagonists in the future as the series goes forward.

A Wilderness of Glass features Brida Gazi, a widowed musician (and owner of a flute that produces mystical music) living in the small village near the Gray, where the villagers harvest shrimp and seaweed to make a living. It is also known to harbor creatures not entirely human. Brida encounters two of these creatures when she stumbles upon a merman and a merchild hidden in a tidal pool and obviously injured. She rescues them and gets them back to their people. The merman returns and they build a relationship that quickly turns to love. But Brida is also being stalked by a man who wants her flute and her music for himself, for reasons she hasn’t figured out yet. All she knows, is she must protect her lover and his people.

I loved this story of a lonely widow falling in love with an also widowed and lonely merman. I was positively enchanted and hope to see this couple again in the future. Final Grade-A

A Curse for Spring by Amanda Bouchet

I’m pretty sure this is a true original novella that doesn’t fit in with any series by this author. It features a young prince named Daric, a curse that blights his lands, and a young woman named Rain. Her name was originally Spring and she was one of the daughters who ruled the seasons and in Daric’s quest to lift the drought be falling his kingdom he pulls her through a magical cauldron and unintentionally traps her in the  human world.

They grow up together and fall in love. But the curse has never been lifted, and the drought has only gotten worse. Daric is soon to be married to the evil daughter of the evil queen in the next realm and Rain to a neighboring king old enough to be her grandfather. They will do what they must to protect their people, but when they discover a last-minute spell to break the curse they head out on a mission to discover if they can find a way to save their kingdom, and themselves.

This novella is such a sweeping, beautiful tale of love, honor and sacrifice. I am highly impressed with how much story this author fit into such a small amount of page time. Daric and Rain’s romance felt complete and I thoroughly enjoyed it and their HEA. Final Grade-B+

The Dragons of Summer by Jeffe Kennedy

This was the only story in this anthology I didn’t read. From what I understand it is part of the Chronicles of Dasnaria/12 Kingdoms/Uncharted Realms series’ and since I currently have those books on my TBR list to read in the new year I think I’ll wait.

All in all, this was a very enjoyable fantasy romance anthology and I highly recommend.

GR * AMZ * BN

Dark Arts and a Daiquiri by Annette Marie
The Guild Codex: Spellbound #2
Urban Fantasy
November 16, 2018 by Dark Owl Fantasy Inc.

This had a completely different feel to it than the first book in the series. Maybe because the main character, Tori, spends most of her time in another dimension interacting with all new characters and her three bffs introduced in the first book only make appearances at the very beginning and toward the end. That’s not to say that I didn’t enjoy myself, I did, but it wasn’t was I was expecting.

Tori is still a regular, normal, everyday human working in a bar that is really a guild for mages, witches, and all beings magical. She had finally found her place and has earned enough money to move out of her brother’s apartment and into her own. She’s still hanging out with Aaron, Kai, and Ezra and she and Aaron seem to be on the road to maybe something more. At least I think so, Tori seems to find anyone with a hot bod and sculpted face fascinating. Anyway, the three mages ask her to help in tracking down a man who they believe is kidnapping children. She agrees and that’s how she ends up in another dimension all on her own.

I won’t give away to many spoilers, but trust me when I tell you that the new character introduced is just as interesting as Tori’s bffs and now I kind of hope we see more of him in the future. But I’m also afraid to see more of him because I really don’t want our heroine to have seven thousand love interests.  Hmmmm… I guess we will see. The next book in the series comes out early next year so I don’t have long to wait to see what happens next.  Final Grade- B-

Available on Amazon and in Kindle Unlimited 

My TBR:

Death Knell (Foundling #3) by Hailey Edwards– I wanted to read this as soon as it hit my Kindle the other day, but I’m behind on reviews so I couldn’t and I still can’t believe how much willpower I have. Review to post next week.

My Favorite Half-Night Stand by Christina Lauren– Another Christina Lauren and all I can say is !!!!!!!!! Review to post next week.

A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J. Maas– YES! I’m finally getting to book three in this series and I can not wait to see what happens next. Also, I <3 Rhys.