BOOK REVIEW: BLACK IN WHITE by JC ANDRIJESKI - QUENTIN BLACK MYSTERY # 1 - PARANORMAL MYSTERY

By: JC Andrijeski

Published By: White Sun Press

Released: Available Now

Details: Kindle purchase, 280 Pages

RATING: 4.5 STARS

Blurb: Goodreads

"My name is Black. Quentin Black."

Gifted with an uncanny sense about people, psychologist Miri Fox works as an off and on profiler for the police. So when they think they've finally nailed the "Wedding Killer," she agrees to check him out, using her gift to discover the truth.

But the suspect, Quentin Black, isn't anything like Miri expects. He claims to be hunting the killer too and the longer Miri talks to him, the more determined she becomes to uncover his secrets.

When he confronts her about the nature of her peculiar "insight," Miri gets pulled into Black's bizarre world and embroiled in a game of cat and mouse with a deadly killer--who still might be Black himself. Worse, she finds herself irresistibly drawn to Black, a complication she doesn't need with a best friend who's a homicide cop and a boyfriend in intelligence.

Can Miriam see a way out or is her future covered in Black?

Standalone novel. No cliffhanger.

*Warning: this book contains graphic language, sex, and violence. Mature readers only. Not intended for young readers.*

BLACK IN WHITE is book 1 in the Quentin Black Mystery series - a series set in the Quentin Black World. It is also a spinoff from the Bridge & Sword (Allie's War) series and takes place in the wider history/world of the seers.

Next in the Quentin Black Mystery series: Black As Night, Black On Black, Black Is Back.

THE QUENTIN BLACK WORLD encompasses a number of dark, gritty paranormal mystery arcs with science fiction elements, starring brilliant and mysterious Quentin Black and forensic psychologist Miriam Fox. For fans of realistic paranormal mysteries with romantic elements, the series spans continents and dimensions as Black solves crimes, takes on other races and tries to keep his and Miri's true identities secret to keep them both alive.

BOOK REVIEW:

This is my first JC Andrijeski read and it won’t be my last!

OMG! I SOOO enjoyed Black In White, but just hear me out on a few things little ol' me as the reader/reviewer has to say below.

Miriam Fox aka Miri is a great character. To be truthful I thought—purely from this first installment of the Quentin Black Mystery series—that it should have been titled the Miriam Fox series. Miriam is the focal character, in my opinion, with a delicious helping of QB on the side.

Quentin Black…OMG! I LOVE Quentin. He is such a great character. Well done JC! There was only one time where I was physically shaking my head and pulling a NOOOO face when he did something.

I do love Nick as well. He was a little too determined about one thing and kinda let his professionalism be swept away, but I really like him in Miriam's life.

I’m not going to say much more than that because I reckon you need to dive in and read for yourself.

I am gonna go a little crazy here and still give it 4.5 stars even though I (personally) felt it was too darn easy to pick the baddie. It was a bit of an eye-roll for me when we got to the da…da…da…daaaa... big reveal. This I usually take stars off for and I think quite rightly so as a reviewer. If more suspects were thrown into the plot then it wouldn't be so darn easy.

I also felt at times the author (for me personally) wrote some plot areas too conveniently. What I am trying to convey is certain things happened more in the telling, rather than the showing and it was too convenient the outcome for me as a reader. I would have liked more detail in those areas and it wouldn’t be filler-in, it would possibly enrich the storyline. I do have examples, but I don’t want to point them out as they are my personal issues I have. 

But each to their own. It could be a case of it's me and not you.

I really did love the bones of this story. Actually, I freakin’ loved the bones of this story and at the moment Quentin’s personality has totally washed the negative away for me.

This does not happen at all with me as a reviewer usually.

There are so many more books in this series already written that I can hardly wait to dive back in. The cover designs are gorgeous.

I am still admittedly trying to work out the title meaning: Black In White. I have been pondering it and can't seem to nail the title. 
New edit: I think I just worked it out. 

I understand QB series is a spin-off of the Bridge and Sword series. I happen to have ROOK on my Kindle and the second book Shield is currently FREE (at the time of this posting).

I do recommend meeting Quentin Black and Miriam Fox. QB is a new book boyfriend of mine.

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BOOK REVIEW: ONE WILDE NIGHT by JENN STARK - IMMORTAL VEGAS #0.5 - PREQUEL NOVELLA - URBAN FANTASY

By: Jenn Stark

Published By: Elewyn Publishing

Released: Available Now, Currently FREE on Kindle

RATING: 4.5 STARS

Blurb: Goodreads

Tarot-reading artifact hunter Sara Wilde has had her share of tough assignments, but this one just might take the cake. When her newest client hires her to steal a fertility idol from an Amazonian sex-and-death cult, she finds herself south of the equator and shoulder deep in true believers, while Rio de Janeiro gears up for the closing celebrations of Carnival.

BOOK REVIEW:

My first Jenn Stark read and boy did it get off to a fast run.

I adored this novella.

The writing is funny, visually descriptive and such a great idea for an urban fantasy series. There is very much a Charley Davidson vibe with the witty dialogue.

I love that our lead female character is a contract hunter of relics. She has a good heart and puts the money she gets paid to good use. 

Sara uses tarot cards to help her along the way and the mysterious voice talking to her in her head, which is both sexy and intriguing assists in rather amusing ways.

This voice leaves us wondering who he is and why he is helping Sara Wilde get out of her predicaments. Think a conversation without Bluetooth.

We do eventually find out his name and Getting Wilde will give you much more information on this mysterious voice.

As far as this prequel novella, I did feel like I wanted to know a few deeper facts regarding Sara, but it didn’t stop me from really enjoying Jenn Stark’s urban fantasy voice.

I personally thought this was a rather smashing FREEBIE I came across and quite the gem.

The cover design for all the series is simply gorgeous.

I feel some readers have been quite hard on Jenn's novella, but each to their own. If you are looking for a fun read with a guy that will leave you waiting for his big reveal, and you are open to some madcap, fast-paced relic hunting, then try it on for size.
Book 1, Getting Wilde is currently FREE at the time of this posting.

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BOOK REVIEW: THE WEDDING FROM HELL PART 2 by JR WARD - THE RECEPTION - NOVELLA PREQUEL TO CONSUMED - PIATKUS - CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE

By: JR WARD

Published By: Piatkus

Released: Available Now

Details: FREE Prequel on Amazon

RATING: 5 STARS

Blurb: Goodreads

The Wedding from Hell, Part 2: The Rehearsal Dinner is the exciting second adventure in J.R. Ward’s three-part ebook serialization: The Wedding From Hell. This exclusive prequel to her upcoming standalone suspense, Consumed (available in October 2018) takes us to where it all started between arson investigator Anne Ashburn and ‘bad boy’ firefighter Danny Maguire. The Wedding From Hell is a sexy standalone novella that sets up Consumed's storyline, leaving fans hungry for more and dying to snatch it up.

The Wedding From Hell, Part 2: The Reception: As the wedding from hell continues, Anne and Danny find themselves walking the delicate balance between professional distance and explosive attraction. Will the desire they feel last through the night and change their lives? Or are they doomed to part after one night of passion?



BOOK REVIEW:

I have to say, my motor is purring in anticipation for Consumed, Firefighters # 1 with these two delicious novellas under my belt.

Danny and Anne are gonna be explosive. Yeah… another pun totally intended.

Not much I can really say other than I highly recommend reading part 1 and 2 in these super short FREE novellas, which will leave you clicking the next page button looking for more… but there isn’t any.

J.R. Ward’s voice is shining through with her descriptions of the crew of the 499 firehouse. I love her Black Dagger Brotherhood series with a passion. I have dabbled in her Bourbon Kings and Fallen Angels series’, but not completed them or even felt the passion I do for BDB.

I can see already I am gonna have a lot of passion for the Firefighters series.

I want Consumed now. I am already consumed by this new series and it hasn’t even started.

October 2018 isn’t that far away… yeah, it kinda is.

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BOOK REVIEW: THE WEDDING FROM HELL PART 1 by JR WARD - THE REHEARSAL DINNER - CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE - PIATKUS

By: JR WARD

Published By: Piatkus

Released: FREE and Available Now on Amazon

Details: FREE, Kindle Purchase, 48 Pages

RATING: 5 STARS

Blurb: Goodreads

A brand new ebook-only story from bestselling author J. R. Ward

Are you ready for The Wedding From Hell?

Dear Reader,

It's a classic recipe for disaster: Take one bridesmaid who thinks pink is the root of all evil. Mix with a best man who's hotter than a four-alarm fire. Add in their explosive sexual attraction, a nightmare bridezilla, two catfights, and an emergency call, and you have the wedding from hell! Come to get to know Anne and Danny, the hero and heroine of Consumed, and see their relationship go from friends with innuendo to holy-&*#-did-that-just-happen?! Is this the start of something good for them? Or just an erotic one-night stand that rocks them both but is never to be repeated? Only their hearts know the answer to that, much as their minds might disagree.

Happy Reading,
J.R. Ward


BOOK REVIEW:

This is a deliciously short FREE novella of only about 48 pages which I thoroughly enjoyed.

Anne Ashburn and Danny Maguire are firefighters and have the hots for each other—pun intended—but Anne can’t afford to let her guard down.

Anne works hard to be accepted and to be one of the guys. She has a lot at stake because she still has boobs and not a dick, no matter which way you look at it, she’s all female.

And guys will still be guys.

Robert “Moose” Miller is getting married to a bridezilla, who Danny knows all too well.

Let the bridezilla antics begin.

Let the sexual tension ooze over the pages.

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BOOK REVIEW: KISS OF A DRAGON by ALISA WOODS - FALLEN IMMORTALS # 1 - PARANORMAL ROMANCE

By: Alisa Woods

Published By: Sworn Secrets Publishing

Released: Available Now

Details: Kindle purchase, 281 Pages - FREE

RATING: 4 LUCIAN STARS!

Blurb: Goodreads

LUCIAN 
I am a Dragon Prince of the House of Smoke… and I am dying. 
Five hundred years is truly enough for a man like me. A monster. Yet a ten-thousand-year treaty will die with me if I don’t spawn a dragonling to take my place. My two brothers are no use in this task. It falls to me, the eldest by a hair’s breadth, and yet, I cannot face the horror of another sealing. Another death. Another woman’s blood on my hands. 

ARABELLA 
I was saved from death in a dark Seattle alley by an impossibly beautiful man who swooped in on golden wings. Now he’s taken me to his lair, opened my eyes to a world of immortals I didn’t know existed, and given me an impossible task—find him a mate. Then, and only then, will he set me free. 

He needs her more than he wants; she wants him more than she should; and the fate of both the mortal and immortal worlds depends on not just repairing their hearts, but finding a Love that’s True… 



BOOK REVIEW:

This was my first Alisa Woods read and I really enjoyed meeting Lucian, Leonidas, and Leksander, the three dragon prince triplets.


He and his brothers, princes of the House of Smoke, existed for literally one purpose—to keep the mortal and immortal worlds apart, as they should be.


Lucian Smoke was the crown prince of the House of Smoke. He was responsible for fulfilling the requirements of the treaty, which included finding a mate ASAP and producing a dragonling heir—or end up wyvern—on top of managing all things in the realms.

Arabella finds herself in a pickle in an alleyway and before long she finds herself in Lucian’s lair, striking a deal with the crown prince.

All truths may not have been disclosed.

Alisa throws in a few villains to spice up the pages and make us want to know more about Zephan the Fae Prince and Tytus, the leader of the House of Drakkon.


Not least the House of Drakkon, an unsavory nest of black dragons that had been plaguing the city and battling with the House of Smoke for years.


I will be coming back for more because I gotta know what happens in this series. The writing was really good, I just would have liked more depth to this first installment in the plot, but I still enjoyed Kiss of the Dragon. I just found some things a little too convenient. I think that is a fair comment to make.

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BOOK REVIEW: THE TROUBLE WITH TWELFTH GRAVE by DARYNDA JONES - CHARLEY DAVIDSON # 12 - PIATKUS - URBAN FANTASY

By: Darynda Jones
Published By: Piatkus
Released: Available Now
Details: Paperback from the library, 289 Pages

RATING: 4.5 STARS!

Blurb: Goodreads

Grim Reaper Charley Davidson is back in the twelfth installment of Darynda Jones' New York Times bestselling paranormal series, The Trouble with Twelfth Grave.

Ever since Reyes Farrow escaped from a hell dimension in which Charley Davidson accidentally trapped him, the son of Satan has been brimstone-bent on destroying the world his heavenly Brother created. His volatile tendencies have put Charley in a bit of a pickle. But that's not the only briny vegetable on her plate. While trying to domesticate the feral being that used to be her husband, she also has to deal with her everyday life of annoying all manner of beings—some corporeal, some not so much—as she struggles to right the wrongs of society. Only this time she's not uncovering a murder. This time she's covering one up.

Add to that her new occupation of keeping a startup PI venture—the indomitable mystery-solving team of Amber Kowalski and Quentin Rutherford—out of trouble and dealing with the Vatican's inquiries into her beloved daughter, and Charley is on the brink of throwing in the towel and becoming a professional shopper. Or possibly a live mannequin. But when someone starts attacking humans who are sensitive to the supernatural world, Charley knows it's time to let loose her razor-sharp claws. Then again, her number one suspect is the dark entity she's loved for centuries. So the question becomes: Can she tame the unruly beast before it destroys everything she's worked so hard to protect?



BOOK REVIEW:

I do love a good Charley Davidson tale that comes with all the crazy shenanigans and side stories to solve, that ultimately weave back around to cross over the finish line = ending of each book.

I-see-dead-people-Charley, Reyes, Cookie, Ubie… the list goes on of main and sub characters that will inevitably make you snort and giggle in your snuggly reading space.

One book after this one and I feel like there is space for things Darynda has to reveal with Charley and this mega thing she is and…and…and…

Like WOW!

My head is spinning.

Okay, so I did love this installment—how could I not?

I figure I’m a relatively smart person, but I gotta say, I am a little *blinks rapidly* about the Reyes side of this story. I totally get what Darynda was doing with Reyes and his God self, but erm…*whispers* I kinda got a bit *cocks head on the side like a puppy* when it came to the why.

OOO yes. The why. The reason. The big reveal.

It may be a case of it’s me and not you, but…*scratches head* I might need a Dummies 101 explanation from Reyes what he was up to this installment from his perspective. I got what he told Charley, I watched what he did throughout the pages…but the ultimate reason, I kinda get, but me being me, wants more detail for that reason. It felt a little unresolved the answer, considering what Charley’s hubby got up to. I might be thinking too hard about it.

*rubs chin with an eyebrow raised*

Putting that aside, I read this series because I LOVE Charley and crew and I want to laugh and I do. I love Reyes like every other reader and he just bakes my cake for me.

Darynda has to have a spin-off planned…surely. 

Beep and ...

I mean she can’t leave us with nothing after book 13.

I mean she simply can’t.

Well, she could, but I think there must be more coming.

Fingers crossed.

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BOOK REVIEW: WITCH'S DAWN by CRYSTAL ASH - UNHOLY TRINITY # 1 - PARANORMAL - REVERSE HAREM

By: Crystal Ash

Published By: Crystal Ash

Released: Available Now

Details: Kindle purchase, 130 Pages

RATING: 4.25 UNHOLY STARS!

Blurb: Goodreads

One day, I’m nobody. The next, I’m a witch. And I’ve caught the attention of three smoking hot demons.

I left home to start over, to escape a world I never fit in. I soon learned that my past was a lie. My parents suppressed my magical abilities and tried to make me forget my true nature. They almost succeeded.

Now my real grandmother is back in my life and teaching me the craft of our people. After living my whole life without magic, I feel like a blind woman seeing for the first time.

But three devilishly handsome men are saying there’s more to my story. I see them everywhere, even in my dreams which are starting to feel like distant memories.

They say I’m not an ordinary witch. My grandmother says not to trust them. Who do I believe?

18+ reverse harem Some scenes may be triggering to some readers

BOOK REVIEW:

I’ve been scrolling about on Amazon in the paranormal romance genre and picked Witch’s Dawn up for .74c US. The cover caught my eye.

This is a short story at 130 pages and in saying that, I did feel I would have liked a touch more of the story moving me a little more into the series in this first installment to latch onto.

Now, I know some readers aren’t overly pleased with the erm… way Crystal has written the religious tones to this story, but that would be the triggers she adds at the bottom of her blurb. 

You just gotta look at the series title 'Unholy Trinity' which gives you the first hint, things are gonna go a little in reverse (no pun intended).

I’m a person that believes anything is possible and I don’t put a label on it. So that is where I stand with religion. I’m not batting for the devil team though. I am thinking along the lines that there is something out there waiting for me when it’s my time and I’m being very open to what is waiting for me on the other side. I am hoping it is all good though and we get to meet up with family members and everything is rosy.

Having said that, I do like how brave Crystal is and I will say unique in bringing a different spin to the reverse harem storytelling. Sure it might trigger some readers and I also understand why that would be so.

I am going with how I felt about reading this first installment and even though I did pull one of those oOOookkkaaaay types of faces in certain parts, it is a fictional story and I am basing my review on the quality of what I read.

Not if it made my eye twitch a few times.

Ash, Raum, and Sal would be the spunky demons and Deja would be the twenty-eight-year-old chickie-babe who does not know what she really is until…



Raum, the one with the shoulder-length dark hair and a raven tattoo on his forearm spoke first. His eyes, dark and deep as a midnight lake, gleamed mischievously. He was the troublemaker, the one I really had to watch out for.



Sal, the one with the stunning green eyes and auburn hair took the seat on the other side of me. His power was the most volatile, ready to strike at any moment. The aura surrounding him crackled with energy that felt like a mixture of simmering rage warning me to stay away, and fiery passion daring me to come closer.



Only Ash remained standing, the quiet, aloof leader of the bunch. He regarded me with icy-blue eyes that burned with curiosity and seemed to take in every detail of me. A hand stroked his short blond beard thoughtfully. The motion made him look like some wise Viking scholar who also happened to be tall and broad enough to go into battle.



Anywho in reverse harem style, the demon lads get a little sexy with Deja and she starts to kind of awaken in little bits along the way.



“Deja,” one mouth growled possessively against my throat.

“Who are you?” I moaned, barely able to breathe with my pulse hammering so hard, my insides so hot on the verge of exploding.


Once you've read this story, the cover art reveals a lot more. This I likey.

Overall I did enjoy this short read, but this is just the tip of the iceberg. I'm looking forward to knowing more.

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