Title: Plaidypus
Author: R.J. Blain
Series: A Magical Romantic Comedy (with a Body Count) #19
Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves: Humour, Paranormal romance, Urban fantasy
Pace: Slow
Format: eBook, Novel
Year: 2022

This novel is actually the reason I first picked up R.J. Blain’s novels – I mean, the idea of a platypus shapeshifter pulled me in from the very first moment. It just took me a whole lot of novels to actually get up to the point when I was able to read to this point. And it did not disappoint. Plus, of all the animals that I’ve read about shifters of – I’m most fascinated by the idea of a platypus. Although, if I was Nadine, I’d also be supremely annoyed at the idea of not having venomous spurs like my male counterparts.

Nadine is the first Canadian in this series, and the first to go somewhere other than America (or hell). I really loved that she fits all of the stereotypes that I had expected, and I also liked how much respect everyone had for our nonsensical Australian wildlife. I particularly loved the zombie moose who just… decided to adopt Nadine and stick with her. I’m hoping that she makes another appearance later on in the series, or in the Magical Hellish Comedy series. I mean, the devil definitely has a thing for hooved menaces running free.

As with all of the books by R.J. Blain, the couple in this are cute and, ultimately, fairly easy to get involved with. Their obstacles to getting together are more about timing and confidence in themselves than anything else. Plus, they have a whole heap of match-making enthusiasts behind them, encouraging the nonsense. And, honestly, as much as I would love to think that falling in love is anything special, it really is just, ultimately looking at someone, and deciding that you’re going to keep them. Or at least, that’s how it was for me.

As much as I loved Nadine and her nonsense, it was really her dad that stole the show for me. I mean, a pony who just likes to eat our danger noodles? Absolutely freaking hilarious. I honestly could not stop giggling over that for a good couple of minutes. Plus, he goes back to do it again. I wish I had that kind of aggression and confidence towards our danger noodles…

Image source: Barnes & Noble

Title: Catnapped
Author: R.J. Blain
Series: A Magical Romantic Comedy (with a Body Count) #18
Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves: Humour, Paranormal romance, Urban fantasy
Pace: Medium
Format: eBook, Novel
Year: 2021

As a fur baby mum, I love stories which feature women who will do anything for their pets. And in the case of Catnapped, Diana will do literally anything for her stolen cat. And I love that her journey to rescue her cat ends up with not only a happily ever after match, but also a whole lot of mayhem and destruction. Which is kind of expected in a Blain book by this point in my experience of her works.

Darian is a great, and very passive companion for Diana. Which is not a bad thing, I love that Diana just races forward, taking over the world and taking name. And Darian just supports her and has her back. Plus, it meant that Diana’s interactions with Lucifer are all that much more entertaining and chaotic. The chaos is really why I read Blain, and the fact that the men are often just along for whatever chaotic ride the women decide to run away on…

I spent the whole time reading Catnapped trying really hard to guess what kind of supernatural being Diana was going to become. I mean, she was getting transformed by Lucifer, it was going to be an interesting being. And I also love that he has a somewhat insane preoccupation with unicorns… as such, I probably should’ve had a bit more of an inkling as to what Diana was going to become, but it still blindsided me. And now I want more nightmares in my life.

There is a bit of a common theme of Christianity in this series. But I’ve noticed that the last few books have gotten even more heavily into the lore. For someone who doesn’t necessarily love stories which feature Christianity, I am loving Blain’s take on it. There’s also more information on the Triads and how they create their families (which I love) and shrouds (which I am kind of obsessed with). It gives a whole lot of information that I’ll probably enjoy on a reread.

I absolutely loved visiting with a number of past and well-loved characters in Catnapped. One of my favourite things about romance series is often that you get to revisit characters, while moving onto a whole other set. The epilogue for this story in particular was fun and gave me so many happily ever after vibes.

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Title: Murder Mittens
Author: R.J. Blain
Series: A Magical Romantic Comedy (with a Body Count) #17
Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves: Humour, Paranormal romance, Urban fantasy
Pace: Fast
Format: eBook, Novel
Year: 2020

I absolutely loved the fact that Harri is a lynx shifter and all of the crazy shenanigans that being a shifter entails throughout the A Magical Romantic Comedy (with a Body Count) series. Plus, Harri’s family is big and entirely certifiable. Which, just made me love them all that much more. Plus, I love that Harri is the only girl of like forty plus siblings, and that her parents just keep adding more… that’s a whole level of insanity that I can’t even fathom. But I kind of love.

Harri spends the entirety of this story making Sebastian roar – which, as someone who is slightly antagonistic at times, I can totally understand. I love that, even though she thinks she’s just being antagonistic and entertaining herself, she doesn’t quite realise that he’s courting her. The whole dynamic is more than a little humorous, and I love how the two of them work their way towards a relationship over the years without even realising it.

Murder Mittens might be my favourite ever assassin code name, it is kind of brilliant and hilarious. Plus, there is also the blood and insanity of her assassinations. I probably shouldn’t enjoy someone ripping out people’s throats as much as I do, but, there it is. I found Harri’s assassinations to be genuinely amusing, and the partnership of her approach and chosen victims was brilliant.

Harri’s family, as previously mentioned is absolutely hilarious. The whole family and dynamic is filled with cheerful chaos and mayhem. The amount of love that jumps of the page is adorable, and I love how they are so protective of each other. Yet, they are also entirely capable of letting her live her own life. Particularly when they find out about the job she moonlights in.

Alongside all of the murder, mayhem and romance joy that I normally find in this series, there is also the love and acceptance of Harri throughout. She is severely scarred and self-conscious. Yet, her family and Sebastian love her regardless. Though, I do love that Sebastian admits the difficulties that her scarring must lead to. And acknowledges how difficult it must be to be different in the world.

Image source: Amazon

Title: The Flame Game
Author: R.J. Blain
Series: A Magical Romantic Comedy (with a Body Count)
Rating Out of 5: 4.5 (Amazing, but not quite perfect)
My Bookshelves: Humour, Paranormal romance, Urban fantasy
Pace: Medium
Format: eBook, Novel
Year: 2020

So far of the Bailey and Quinn stories, I actually liked this one the least. That’s not to say that I didn’t enjoy it, but it most certainly wasn’t my absolute favourite. I think I just wanted a lot more… something out of this than what I got. Whilst Bailey and Quinn’s happily ever after is pretty much set at this point, I think that I wanted a whole lot more of the getting there process. This felt a little like a novel that was tying up all of the loose ends, and maybe I just wanted a bit of a longer story to do so.

Having said all of that, this was still a really good and fun novel. I mean, Bailey gets to ride off into the sunset, pregnant and planning to adopt the whole damn world. Quinn is mostly just getting dragged along for the ride… happily and lovingly. I would’ve liked a little more doubt from Bailey as to the reality of Quinn’s love for her. She went from having some pretty ginormous issues, to being chaotically and happily violent in the blink of an eye. I wanted more issues damn it!

The overarching story line that threads throughout the three Bailey and Quinn books is the rabies outbreak and the conspiracy behind it. I liked how Blain was able to wrap up this story line and also pull in a few moments from other books within the series. Add to that the fact that Bailey spends this whole book pregnant, I really enjoyed the craziness of this whole story. Particularly the added complications and challenges of being a pregnant cindercorn. Pregnancy is crazy enough as it is, but to be a magical beast and pregnant? Probably not ideal.

As much as I love Perky and Perkette, I really want more of them! They are a funny pair, and I want to see how they handle being parents to quads. Two is enough crazy for me, but four at once? Born to a cop and a mad scientist? Yeah, that’s a story that I would love to read in the future! Even if they are just secondary characters yet again.

All in all this is a fun and sassy novel, like all of the other Blain books in my shelves. It left me laughing and giggling the whole time I was reading it. Although that’s the end of Bailey and Quinn’s story, I can’t wait to jump into the rest of the A Magical Romantic Comedy series. There is just something fun about the pure insanity that is the writing of Blain.

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Title: A Chip on Her Shoulder
Author: R.J. Blain
Series: A Magical romantic Comedy (with a Body Count) #15
Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves: Humour, Paranormal romance, Urban fantasy
Pace: Medium
Format: eBook, Novel
Year: 2020

It took me a little bit longer to get through this book than the others in this series. Mostly just because I had a bit of hectic essays going on. But also because I found it a little bit more difficult to connect with Darlene. I mean, she was an absolutely fantastic character, and I still had my laugh out loud moments. But she also wasn’t someone I found much connection with in the grand scheme of things.

I do love that this novel went back in time a little bit. Not only did it give background to the Devil’s marriage, but it also provided some more information on both Kanika and Bailey. Two characters that I really did love. I love that, although there are hints of the world intertwining throughout this series, this is the novel that really highlights it. It’s very cool how everything slots in together so beautifully. And I can’t wait to see how this expands in the future.

Alongside revealing more information about some key characters in this series, this novel also gives more of a background into the whole end of days, battle type theme. I like how although it uses a lot of Christian theories, it’s also incorporating other beliefs and some of its own. The lore that keeps building is brilliant and made me particular happy. I love how all of the threads that have slowly been explained are coming to fruition now.

The level of violence and aggression that Darlene aspires to is kind of brilliant. Probably my favourite part of this whole book is just how feisty she is. There is no apology for being herself and no hints of shame, but there is a whole lot of willingness to mess with the people who have wringed her family. I may not have been able to connect with the leads in this story so much, but I was able to laugh at their banter and antics.

Image source: Amazon

Title: Grave Humor
Author: R.J. Blain
Series: A Magical romantic Comedy (with a Body Count) #14
Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves: Humour, Paranormal romance, Urban fantasy
Pace: Medium
Format: eBook, Novel
Year: 2020

It was only halfway through this novel that I pieced together Anwen’s role in the greater magical world. I guessed that she wasn’t quite what one would expect (herself included) but didn’t get very far beyond that. Which meant, that when the pieces started to fall into place, I was somewhat surprised. And incredibly happy at Blain’s beautiful crafting of a story.

Like Anwen, Eoghan wasn’t quite what I expected. When you first meet him, he seems a lot rougher and more arrogant. Also, a little on the evil side. Then, you realise it was all an act and he’s far more docile than anticipated. I particularly love that he is one of the three aspects of death and plays a fairly crucial role in the world as we know it.

Grave Humour is a fun and very, very slow burn romance. It is possibly one of the slower burn romances that I’ve read. To the point that there was actually no physical intimacy throughout the whole story. Normally I enjoy that moment of the first kiss, but this change of pace and expectations was kind of brilliant. It gave a sweetness to a story that involved a lot of conversations about death.

I really enjoy that, as the series is unfolding, more and more lore and history is revealed. Of particular interest within that idea is the whole End of Days saga. Death is just another aspect of this construction. Its a nice reminder that in every ending there is a new beginning. Plus, there’s also a ridiculously wonderful amount of grave / dark humour throughout.

Image source: Amazon

Title: Double Trouble
Author: R.J. Blain
Series: A Magical romantic Comedy (with a Body Count) #13
Rating Out of 5: 4.5 (Amazing, but not quite perfect)
My Bookshelves: Humour, Paranormal romance, Urban fantasy
Pace: Medium
Format: eBook, Novel
Year: 2019

When I read the blurb from this book, I had a bit of an idea of what I thought I should expect from this novel. And it turned out that the reality was nothing like what I anticipated. Which was fantastic, because I like being surprised, and this was way better than what was in my imagination. Which is probably why I keep just inhaling R.J. Blain’s Magical Romantic Comedy (with a Body count) series. They’re funny, brilliant and often nothing like what I expect.

Layla’s history was one of those mysteries that is slowly unravelled throughout the novel. I loved finding out bits and pieces of her history. The fact that this also led to some wonderful revenge when all of the truth came out was fantastic. It added another layer to this world that Blain has wonderfully built. And gave me a new insight into the different species that dance around the pages of this series. I kind of loved that, alongside Layla’s history, there is a whole lot of information about unicorns. They’re most definitely not the innocent paragons of virtue that I expected. They’re much more sex fiendish and happy to cause chaos – which I’d honestly rather.

Both of Xena and Dean (the unicorns within this story) are freaking hilarious. You have Xena on the one hand who is determined to take over the world. All of her antics made me smile and giggle, plus, she’s just trouble walking. Honestly, just a story on her would’ve made me happy. But, then you add in Dean. He is just wonderfully determined and set on his future wife. I’m not entirely sure just how he settled on Layla so quickly, it wasn’t quite an instalove idea, but something akin to it. But, I love how he is just… content to keep working at his chosen wife whether anyone else likes it or not.

There was so much that I loved about this story, but I think that one of my favourite aspects is just Layla’s willingness to stab anyone. With anything she can get her hands on. I’m not entirely sure how a handbag can be turned into a shiv, but I loved reading about her trying to do so. She is so damn aggressive and violent, yet innocent and sweet. I may have closed my eyes with laughter every time Layla tried to shiv someone if I’m being honest…

Image source: Goodreads

Title: Burn, Baby, Burn
Author: R.J. Blain
Series: A Magical romantic Comedy (with a Body Count) #12
Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves: Humour, Paranormal romance, Urban fantasy
Pace: Medium
Format: eBook, Novel
Year: 2019

I find very little interconnectedness between the Magical Romantic Comedy characters. Which meant that I was incredibly excited to revisit the original couple within this series – Bailey and Quinn. Particularly since a lot of their story was a little bit open ended. And yes, this story also has a few unanswered questions at the end. But there’s another Bailey and Quinn story to come!

Although I love Bailey and Quinn as a couple, I also loved that they actually spent most of this storyline apart. It gave them both a chance to continue growing independently of one another. It also allowed for both the ‘Perkys’ to shine as the best friends of the leads. In particular, I loved Perky’s wife and her mad scientist ways. The fact that she spends this entire story out to corrupt Bailey just had me giggling out loud. A great literary best friend, but one that would terrify me in real life…

Finally, finally, Bailey’s heritage is actually revealed in this novel. It was definitely left as a big question mark at the end of the first novel. So, I was over the moon to actually discover the answer to that lingering query. It definitely made me love her even more. And wonder how her powers are going to develop. After all, you get the feeling that she’s just scratched the surface.

Both Bailey and Quinn seem to spend the majority if their time in this rescuing strays. Bailey rescuing animals from dumpsters. Quinn children from tragic circumstances. I also love that Bailey is incredibly gun ho about fighting to have the children. And the animals. And just in general, happy to fight everyone she possibly can.

Image source: Kobo

Title: Cheetahs Never Win
Author: R.J. Blain
Series: A Magical romantic Comedy (with a Body Count) #11
Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves: Humour, Paranormal romance, Urban fantasy
Pace: Medium
Format: eBook, Novel
Year: 2019

This is definitely one of my favourite A Magical Romantic Comedy books – I loved Aaron and Sassy from the beginning. And I also seriously enjoyed how the cheetah cohort actually works. It was nothing like I expected, and I doubt really based on how cheetahs act in the wild, but it was also a lot of fun. I particularly loved that Aaron’s infatuation with Sassy is shown through his constant purchasing of shoes. I mean, gift giving is a very good love language. And the fact that it’s through expensive shoes? Even better.

The machinations and manipulations of Sassy’s family are absolutely hilarious. They manage to constantly manoeuvre their way into Sassy’s life. And the fact that they actually infect Aaron way before anyone realises? Again, absolutely hilarious. The fact that Aaron ends up following their plan, but a few years after the fact just made me giggle all that much harder. I know that I’d do anything for my kids’ happiness, but this level of manipulation? That is just a whole other thing… one I find weirdly admirable.

Behind the wonderfully fun romance and getting to know Sassy’s family is the fact that Aaron and Sassy are on the hunt for a serial killer. I did tear up a few times throughout this – since the killer is actually hunting children. And I definitely found this to be the most intense story of the series. Particularly since I was pregnant with my second child whilst reading this. Yet, I enjoyed trying to figure out just who was behind all of this as I read through. And why they were so damn evil. It was kind of fun trying to get answers…

There are so many great characters that I absolutely fell in love with throughout this novel. I definitely want more cheetah shapeshifters. Since they seem to have a few less-mainstream kinks and are equal sex opportunists. Plus, the whole taking a kidnapping to settle them down? Again, kind of brilliant and hilarious. Definitely a whole new world to explore in this book, and I hope we get back to this group again.

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