Howl for It is a great anthology with two fun and engaging novellas. Even on the reread, I absolutely adored both of these stories. They were a whole lot of fun, quite light and a fantastic way to leave aside the whole adulting thing for a little while. Both paranormal romances featured werewolves, but in starkly different ways – one was part of a greater series and filled in aspects of Laurenston’s Shifter World. The other, a story about Hunters and Shifters ultimately coming together.
I picked this up as a reread as part of my Laurenston ReRead, and there are zero regrets about this decision. I always love revisiting a well-loved anthology of stories, and Howl For Itdefinitely ticks those boxes. It’s a great reminder of why I love reading anthologies – the novellas and short stories just work as a brilliant window into another world. Into a new author, or a great way to revisit someone that you have read before, and just want to return to again.
Clemeny’s love triangle with Edwin and Lionheart gains a little traction in Bitches and Brawlers, plus, I love that it brings in a few more of the characters from Wolves and Daggers. Both the love triangle and other characters help to tie up some loose threads and drive Clemeny’s adventures and personal journey forwards. I love that Clemeny is able to visit with her old partner and her Grandmere takes a lot of the spotlight in this story. Then, there’s the fact that, although I really want Clemeny to end up with Lionheart, she’s leaning towards Edwin – something that just makes me want to dive into Howls and Hallows all that much quicker.
Alodie is a not-very-nice villain, one that it was incredibly easy to detest – I love the ending that she meets. Very much create by her own decisions and evil. Yet, as with everything in Bitches and Brawlers, her death throws everyone and everything into turmoil. Plus, I just really, really disliked her. I mean, she’s a power hungry bitch who won’t stop at anything to get what she wants. It’s always nice to have a villain who is totally detestable, and impossible to like. As much as I also love those that are slightly relatable, I also love when it is just all too easy to hate a character and wish nothing but the worst for them. Just like Alodie.
I can’t wait to start to understand more of Clemeny’s history – there have been so many teasers and hints throughout this series, and Karsak manages to tease out just a little bit more in Bitches and Brawlers. Little Red finds herself one step closer to who she truly is, and all those moments of (what I think are) supressed power feel like they’re soon going to come to fruition. A great little lead into Howls and Hallows. Or at least, it is to my mind, since I haven’t actually read Howls and Hallows yet…
Not only did I really enjoy cavorting through London with Clemeny and fighting crime, the secondary characters in this series, and Bitches and Brawlers in particular are fantastic. This is a steampunk world which is wonderfully multifaceted and gives you insights into so many different lives and individuals. Then, there’s the tie ins to the Steampunk Fairytales series that make me want to dive across to those books as well. So much to read, so little time!
I read the first chapter of this story, and then kind of put it aside – reading on Kindle Unlimited is a little bit more clunky for me. However, once I got the chance, I read this story from cover to cover. However, even in the interim, I really wanted to dive back into this story. I mean, a Christmas, steampunk red riding hood was always going to pull me in. It also builds beautifully on the stirrings of feelings in Clemeny in Alphas and Airships. I loved seeing how her feelings evolve and she begins to get used to the new status quo within the Red Cape Society.
One of my all-time favourite things about Peppermint and Pentaclesis the fact that the Christmas spin on the adventures of Clemeny is Krampus. I have been absolutely fascinated by the idea and practices of Krampus since my Austrian penpal introduced me to how her village celebrates this. And this was my first ever story that features this. I honestly couldn’t get enough of the darker twist on a Christmas story. Just the kind of tale that I tend to like.
Clemeny and Edwin (Agent Hunter) spend the entirety of this story moving closer to one another. There are still frequent mentions of Sir Richard throughout, and I feel like this is going to be a bit of a future love triangle. I wonder if they are going to work out in the next books in this series. I also loved getting to spend more time with Grand-mere. It was nice to have the characters that surround Clemeny fleshed out a bit. Characters that support her brilliantly, but also make me want to dive right into these books again and again.
There is so much about this series that I’m absolutely loving. And having a Christmas-story featuring Krampus into the mix just makes it all that much better. I can’t wait to read more and more and more of Karsak’s writing. Plus, with every book, there is more world building of the darker, more mystical side of these steampunk retellings.
You know that a book is absolutely brilliant when you want to keep going back to pick it up. Only to realise that you’ve actually already finished it. And then you get that wonderfully irritating book hangover feeling. The one that makes you reluctant to pick up another book because it probably won’t quite measure up. And then it takes forever to find one that can quite draw you in again. Alphas and Airships was one such book.
Clemeny is a great and very relatable character and I love how driven she is for justice. Alphas and Airshipssets up the idea of a bit of a love triangle for her. And also talks about some of the repercussions and change which Wolves and Daggers bought to her life. I wasn’t sure if I spent more of this book wanting to know about the new relationships which Clemeny was forming. Or whether she was going to get the Viking Werewolf that she was hunting… going forwards, it’ll be very much the love triangle that will drive my reading, but that’s mostly because there will be new hunting challenges to overcome I’m sure.
As far as partners go, I really enjoyed Agent Harper and how her relationship with Clemeny grows. I hope that she shows up again. It was fun watching their connection grow as they tried to stop the bad guys. Harper was also a great balance of innocence and light to Clemeny’s more serious and jaded nature. They’re also both driven by a high moral fibre that makes them entirely compatible.
During Alphas and Airships, it becomes obvious that there are a lot of secrets in Clemeny’s past. Many of which I’m sure she doesn’t actually know herself. Particularly those of her bloodline. I can’t wait to find out more about her history and how this is going to impact her life. I’m assuming heavily, because it feels like it’s being set up to be a huge deal.
This was a much shorter and easier read than I was anticipating. Which honestly made me ridiculously happy – sometimes a short and easy romance is exactly what is needed to reset the brain and just drift off for a little while. This was incredibly pleasant with a whole lot of yummy lust in it. Incredibly enjoyable and fun.
Lannister is a truly horrifying ex and villain – I mean, it’s obvious that Skye is running from someone not so nice. But, it gets even worse the more the story unfolds. Plus, when it becomes obvious that he’s also the villain in Jace’s story – it’s pretty intense. But, I love how Skye is able to get her life back from his insanity.
Jace and Skye were a little bit instalove in this story, but it was kind of built on a friendship as well. I love that although both jump to a few conclusions, they are also able to give each other the benefit of the doubt. They worked as a very good couple, and I can’t wait to see what other women fall in love with the werewolves of the rising sun.
This was an incredibly easy and light story, one with just enough drama and action to make me not want to put the story down. I can’t wait to read more stories in this series.
Allison’s journey throughout this story is actually a little bit sad, surprisingly so for the tone of most of the Blain books that I’ve read so far. And, even with all of the obstacles that Allison overcomes, she doesn’t quite get the happily ever after that I was anticipating. I mean, Blain’s writing is normally finished by a romantic happily ever after ending, so it was kind of surprising that Allison didn’t end the story with a man at her side. But, I kind of liked that fact.
I love that Allison is an insanely old werewolf and the Caretaker of the Seasons. Not only is that a great level of characterisation, but also Allison’s past provides a fantastic insight into the Witch and Wolf world and all of the politics within it. I also really enjoyed how the wolf aspect of Allison’s personality as so much more aggressive in her care for the seasons than her human alter-ego.
Unlike the some of the other series within Blain’s world, this story had a whole lot of sad and senseless death throughout it. I honestly had my heart hurt a whole lot more by this story than any of her other tales. Which made me seriously love it – I love that the story didn’t follow the pathway that I was expecting, and that it was a whole lot darker than anticipated. The tragedy and hurt just made all of the nice moments throughout even better.
I absolutely adored this story – it was much darker than I expected, but I think that that’s what made me enjoy it. It’s definitely drawn me into the Witch and Wolf world. Now I can’t wait to read more about these amazing characters and all of the horrible politics that are at play within the this world.
This is such a fantastic collection, probably one of my favourite short story collections. Because, lets face it, anything that features the Mercyverse is going to be brilliant. A collection of novellas and short stories which visit the many, many wonderful characters… that’s just a wonderful adventure to go on.
Shifting Shadows is filled with stories of all lengths and tones. There are some pretty dark stories, some that are light, and some that are cute. I love that you are able to go through the gambit of emotions and pick a story of any length to suit your mood. Although, I would suggest digging into this when you’ve read the relevant novel in the series, that way you don’t get too many spoilers.
I love that if I need a Mercyverse fix, I can just pick this collection up and dive right in. It’s a bit of a shorter approach to diving back into the world without picking up a full-length novel. Plus, it gives you a bit of insight into the other, secondary characters throughout the series.
Shifting Shadows is one of my favourite rereads. It’s a wonderful and fun journey that I will take again and again and again as the years go by. Plus, there are some moments of closure and context that are provided in these tales that help to build upon the full-length novels.
Hollow is a wonderful short story that follows on perfectly from Night Broken. It fills in a few of the moments and questions that are left unanswered after the main battle and storyline are completed. It’s also just a bit of a cute story, the secondary characters that come in asking for Mercy’s help are very cute and you are gunning for their relationship from the very beginning.
One of the parts of closure that I liked from this story is just what happens to Mercy’s garage. I mean, crazy volcano god destroying your place of work and refuge is a pretty big plot point. And it was nice to know how Mercy and Adam choose to move forward with the structure. And Mercy’s future. It wasn’t a question that I necessarily wanted answered when I finished Night Broken, because I didn’t realise that it was a question I wanted answered…
Then there is the ability to get to know Zack a little bit better. After losing a submissive in another story, it was nice to get to know this new character. I’m hoping to spend more time with him throughout the future stories. That, and Mercy’s ability to constantly find out more about her supernatural abilities was brilliant. In fact, this very short fun dive into the Mercyverse was very much enjoyed and answered a number of questions I didn’t even know to ask.
This might be a reread, and my first time writing a review, but honestly, no matter how many times I read this, I will think it is amazing and wonderful. Even though I knew what was going to happen, I still couldn’t find it in myself to put this book down at any point while reading this. This is a high-energy, high-intensity story. I love that although Mercy has found her happily ever after with Adam, there are still constant challenges. The more she finds out about her heritage and assumes her role as part of an alpha couple, the more trouble that she runs into. Which is exactly what I love so much about this author, series, and book.
Christie damn well pisses you off from the very beginning of this story. Honestly, there are many moments throughout this that made me want to reach through the pages and smack the pettiness out of this antagonist. Actually, I disliked Christie more than I disliked the actual, dangerous villain. Probably because manipulative, annoying cow is horrible. And the way she tries to play the pack against Mercy to regain her “position”. Yet, I also love how Mercy is able to handle this with poise – I honestly wish that when I’ve come up against Christie-like characters in my own life, I could handle it with as much calm and control as Mercy does. There’s also the fact that Mercy does get her own petty revenge at the very end, which is nowhere near the level of discomfort she went through, but enough to make me smile and smirk.
I love how this story brings in a whole new form of supernatural being to contend with. Because vampires, werewolves, Native American shapeshifters and the ever-elusive fae aren’t enough. Then there’s the villain in this story. And it was truly terrifying in moments (even in a reread). Although, ultimately the villain was vanquished (or beaten), there are lingering aspects of this new form of supernatural in Mercy’s life. And I can’t wait to see how this evolves throughout the series. Night Broken is the last of the books in the Mercyverse that I haven’t read yet, so it’ll be interesting how this will evolve in the future…
Mercy and Adam are still one of my favourite literary couples. They are both feisty and powerful. Yet, even though they are wonderfully independent, they are also incredibly supportive of one another. They are able to see each other’s flaws and love each other in spite of them. The kind of relationship that I love reading about – after all, it’s not realistic to think that you can love someone long term and not ever get annoyed at them. I also love how although Mercy might be constantly fighting to have members of the Pack accept her, because they are important to Adam, they are important to her. And it’s this that makes for some great conflict, both within the social structure of the group, and the epic final battle at the end.
I’ve read a Cynthia Eden story before, a little while ago. But just the one, so I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect with this novella. Likewise, after reading the blurb for this tale, I thought I had an inkling of what I was going to enter into. None of these things prepared me for the story I got. And it was completely epic for that fact. I seriously loved this and had a great time reading through this novella.
There is a whole lot of betrayal and treachery throughout this story. The turns and the deceits happened so quickly that I got to a point I was expecting it with each turn of the page. I most definitely had a beating heart throughout this tale. And it most definitely made my poor heart hurt for both Gage and Kayla – they so obviously care for one another, but are also constantly thrown into the path of some seriously horrible drama.
Gage and Kayla work wonderfully as a couple, although Gage does spend most of this story underestimating her, and then getting his butt kicked. I love that Kayla is able to go toe to toe with Gage in every moment that he underestimates her. It made me smile and laugh. I love a strong woman who is able to stand up for herself and take people to task for underestimating them.
To add to the drama and heartbreak throughout this story, there is Kayla’s brother and the past trauma that they both experienced. You spend the whole time hoping that Kayla and Gage find their happily ever after, but also hoping that Kayla is able to find that with her own brother. And the two seem to be mutually exclusive conditions…
Earth and Skye 