Book Reviews – Page 13 – Have Coffee Need Books

Book Review: The Killing Fog by Jeff Wheeler

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ByMs Ali Cat: Ali Crean | On March 04,20 | 0 Comment

Title: The Killing Fog (The Grave Kingdom #1)
Author: Jeff Wheeler
Genre: Fantasy
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Bingmei is every girl’s inner warrior.

The Killing Fog is an Asian inspired Mystic-Action-Fantasy and the first book in Jeff Wheeler Grave Kingdom Series. Bingmei is the sole survivor of a series of attacks that took first her parents and then her grandfather. The tragedies left her with little more than mystic abilities and a need to avenge her family; she certainly does not have a family beyond the band of mercenaries and assassins with whom she travels. She can count the Killing Fog somewhat of an ally, though it is a rather unforgiving and unrepentant one.

What I love most about Bingmei is that she can be a heroine to every female. She can sniff out the situation and trusts her intuition. She’s strong even when she doubts herself, she turns her negative emotions against one another instead of against herself. She listens to learn. This woman gets up more times than she falls. Ironically Bingmei translates as ‘little sister,’ but the diminutive distracts from the mettle of what forged the woman.

Book It, Book Reviews, New Release

Book Review: Midnight Fae Academy by Lexi C. Foss

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ByMs Ali Cat: Ali Crean | On February 24,20 | 0 Comment

Title: Midnight Fae Academy (Midnight Fae Academy #1)
Author: Lexi C. Foss
Genre: Reverse Harem, Dark Fantasy Romance
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Welcome to Lexi C. Foss’ Midnight Fae Academy, where all the sexy Midnight Fae come out to play.

Trayton Nacht? Book boyfriend material. Check
Kolstov Nacht? Book boyfriend material. Check
Headmaster Zephyrus? I’m not kicking him out of my bunk for cracker crumbs. Check, check.
Shade? 92% into Midnight Fae Academy, I fall completely and totally in love with Shadow. Team Shade 2020.

I’m unchecking boxes; I’m kicking Zeph out of my bunk for crumbs. I’m carving ‘Ali loves Shade 4eva’ in the drywall of my reading room (Don’t tell my husband. He just built me the reading room for Valentine’s Day).

Shadow doesn’t get a POV throughout, so it’s one of only a few peeks into his head. I honestly love the rogue. And he is a rogue. God, I do love rogues.

But wait, What is the Midnight Fae Academy, and who cares?

Midnight Fae Academy is where the Blood Fae go to learn to use their powers. At the same age that humans go to college, Midnight Fae start attending the academy. The Blood Lines, all Midnight Fae, King Nacht, and the Elite Blood, and the Council all live within the kingdom.

Aflora is the last heir to the Earth Fae Monarchy. She maintains the source of Earth magic; she’s royalty, and essential to the realm. She’s not a Blood Fae in any way.

Not only is it forbidden for Shadow to mate Aflora without the sanction of the Council, but it’s also a violation to bite someone against their will, and its a death sentence to mate with another fae species.

After Shade breaks all these rules, the only thing keeping her alive is her royal blood. And she is stuck in the Midnight Fae realm mainly because his bite is changing her magic, and she isn’t weilding only elemental magic anymore.

Book It, Book Reviews, Book Teasers, New Release

Book Review: Creeping Beautiful by J.A. Huss

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ByMs Ali Cat: Ali Crean | On February 22,20 | 0 Comment

Title: Creeping Beautiful (Creeping Beautiful #1)
Author: J.A. Huss
Genre: Psychological Fiction, Reverse Harem
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The first J.A. Huss book I read was Come from the Dirty, Dark, and Deadly series.

That was it. It hooked me, here I was a shiny new J.A. Huss fan.

Harper is one of my all-time favorite FC, and James elite level dirty talker. Come, Come Back, Coming For You are books I’ve read multiple times. I followed them up with Rook and Ronin. The world she writes in is all tangled up. Many of her stories have cameos of past characters or reference past events.

Indie Anna Accorsi’s heart is pulling her in four directions. She’s broken into a million pieces, so it’s easy for her heart to spread around willy-nilly. Each of her men serves a unique need: McKay is the nurturer/soul heal, Adam the ‘daddy’/soul guide, Donovan is the confidant/soulmate, and Nate is the BFF/soul share.

The men she yearns for are very aware of who she is. They know what built her that way. In this world, looking out for number one is essential. Indie’s protectors would do anything to free her of one more moment of the hell that bore her.

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Book Review: Prick by Londyn Quinn

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ByMs Ali Cat: Ali Crean | On February 18,20 | 0 Comment

Title: Prick (Ridgeview Prep Prequel)
Author: Londyn Quinn
Genre: Dark Romance
My rating: 3 of 3 stars

Prick is a prequel in preparation for the upcoming first full-length book, Puppet by author Londyn Quinn. This novelette is the back story of the characters Xander and Charlotte.

It’s challenging to review a snapshot story which this is — I estimate that the prequel might cover all of three or so hours of story events and it is easy to find issues when the characters have no time to develop. I was WTFing Xander and then talked myself off the ledge because I was judging him after reading no more than maybe twenty pages of his pre-story.

Safe to say that this is something that fans of Amo Jones’ Elite Kings, Tijan’s Carter Reed, or Shantel Tessier’s Dare series might want to check out. Prick is short, don’t expect more than a nibble–the meal will be the next book, Puppet.

I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary advance copy of this book.

Book It, Book Reviews, New Release

Book Review: Queen Sector by Lucy Auburn

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ByMs Ali Cat: Ali Crean | On February 18,20 | 0 Comment

Title: Queen Sector (Zombie Year 2099 Collection)
Author: Lucy Auburn
Genre: Urban Fantasy, Reverse Harem
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Let’s get the bad out of the way.

Queen Sector is my least favorite Zombie Year 2099 story.

Zombie Manhattan is the domain of a necromancer king who is a real prize (that is sarcasm). King Ulric has been building a zombie army by infecting the humans in this future view of NYC. And the only real threat to the King is the Fireflies: a group of rebel witches looking to free the island of His Necrohole reign.

A little bit of Reverse Harem saves this from being something I would put down and not bother picking up until I was out of anything else to read.

Mia and the Fireflies are planning a coup. The witches are going in to assassinate the King. The King has three necromancer sons though who rumor is, have the potential to be just as bad as their dead-raising-dad. To Mia’s misfortune, a new supernatural power reveals itself at the worst time, and now, she is unprepared to become the Queen of Zombie World 2099 despite the royal treatment she is getting while imprisoned.

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Book Review: Beautifully Broken by Bailey B.

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ByMs Ali Cat: Ali Crean | On February 14,20 | 0 Comment

Title: Beautifully Broken
Author: Bailey B.
Genre: NA Contemporary
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Piper Lovelace is a hot mess. Life is bad enough, the rumors are vicious, and the bullies are far worse. When you can’t beat them, the only thing you can do is join them.

Of course, I wouldn’t do that, and I don’t think it’s advisable to slap a scarlet letter on one’s chest and claim harlot-dom, but I’m not Piper.

Bailey B.’s first book deals with a lot of trigger topics, the least of which is rape–and that is saying something. Piper’s dealing with a lot of psychological trauma, and what complicates it further is she resists help. It’s common for traumatized people to twist what happens to them and who they are into one mess in their heads. Beautifully Broken frames this psychology honestly.

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Book Review: Malice by Pintip Dunn

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ByMs Ali Cat: Ali Crean | On February 08,20 | 0 Comment

Title: Malice
Author: Pintip Dunn
Genre: YA Sci-fi, Thriller
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Are you the same person now as you will be ten years from now?

One of the existential questions Pintip Dunn’s asks of her heroine in her newest page-turning YA Sci-fi, Thriller. Malice is Pintip Dunn doing what she does best, testing her readers to see possibilities that lay just outside what we accept as possible.

Who is Alice Sherman? She would say she’s a loyal sister, loyal friend, a person who sees the best in things, but admittedly, the worst baker. Alice is chugging along despite difficulties in a broken family, keeping a STEM preoccupied older brother anchored to the outside world. And this girl has her eyes on the prize; she isn’t going to let boys distract her from surviving highschool. She doesn’t date.

Pintip Dunn sets up this story with slow-rolling reveals which increase the pace and urgency of the evolving narrative. Couched inside the mystery is an ever-present reminder that there is no way we can know today what challenges to come will change us fundamentally. What motivates us right now can flip on a switch with a new catalyst.

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Book Review: Hellsbreath Sector by Kira Nyte

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ByMs Ali Cat: Ali Crean | On February 05,20 | 0 Comment

Title: Hellsbreath Sector (Zombie Year 2099 Collection)
Author: Kira Nyte
Genre: Paranormal Shifter Romance
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Zombie Year 2099 series has another release, and it’s Kira Nyte’s Hellsbreath Sector, a refuge for humans and supernaturals with a zombie outpost next door.

As a Fae Princess, Ysaria hasn’t ventured into the human realm despite being very curious about it. She foolishly convinced her brother to open a portal so they could adventure but found their magic bound and themselves imprisoned in cages by zombies. This species of zombies is much different than other Zombie Year 2099 undead; they are intelligent with a hunger for flesh. Their prisoners are slaves; supernaturals aren’t on the menu because they taste horrible to zombies, but they do have value in another flesh trade.

Yet slaves are slaves, beatings and violations are frequent. Ysaria keeps them angry, so she takes the punishments rather than worse. Not being able to access her powers is a further complication. Her brother Dastion and she are helpless. The only chance they have–an escape, she takes advantage of the first chance she gets. But weakened after days of captivity, she fears it will prove fruitless. It almost is.

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Book Review: Man Crush Monday by Kirsty Moseley

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ByMs Ali Cat: Ali Crean | On February 03,20 | 0 Comment

Man Crush Monday by Kristy Moseley — click to purchase

Title: Man Crush Monday
Author: Kristy Moseley
Genre: Romantic Comedy
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

#GirlCrushAmys

I thought Amy Summers from Lauren Blakely’s Asking for a Friend was my ultimate book girl crush, but now I need to start a collection of Amys because Amy Clarke is as delightfully precious as my other Amy.

#CollectionofAmys

Life is desperate when the highlight of your week is Monday morning–that’s my opinion anyway. But for Amy Clarke, she lives for those days when her nerdy train obsession boards the train to London. If only this cute guy she adores, like-a-creeper, noticed her, the world would be perfect. She’s barely said a word to him, yet she knows she’s in love.

Book It, Book Reviews, New Release

Book Review: The Lies We Tell by Becca Steele

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ByMs Ali Cat: Ali Crean | On January 28,20 | 0 Comment

Title: The Lies We Tell (The Four #1)
Author: Becca Steele
Genre: Bully, New Adult, College Romance
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

There is nothing like being the last to know how very you are about someone else. Caiden Cavendish stubbornly chooses distrust in the face of facts that the thing he thinks is suspicious is the least subject him about which to worry.

Men.

The premise of The Lies We Tell is the Step-Sib Trope of forbidden desires, which ultimately isn’t half as icky as the taboo implies. That Caiden hates Winter, but Winter has the hots for Cade’s hate is far more troubling than any piggly-wiggly familial relations. Love is so complicated.

After a life of modest living with her adoring father, Winter is adrift after his death. The one thing she is sure of is that something shady happened to him, and it’s connected to her estranged mother. A Wealthy mother who couldn’t care less for Winter; her Cinderella story is askew because it’s her bio mom who is the witch.

But her stepbrothers are no better than Cinderella’s because Cade is a colossal dick.