Between Twilight (Skye Druids #9)

Donna Grant

Blurb:

She came to destroy me. Now I’ll burn the world to keep her.

She gets beneath my skin. Haunts my thoughts.

Strips away my control.

And I keep going back for more.

Every glance pulls me deeper. Every touch weakens my grip. And when she looks at me with those silver eyes full of secrets and fury, I know I’m already lost.

Something dark is closing in around us.

Power is shifting. Truths are unraveling. And the woman I can’t stay away from may be the key to it all.

I should walk away before she ruins me. Before this obsession consumes us. But when she’s in my arms, nothing else matters.

Not the lies.

Not the danger.

Not even what’s coming.

Because once I claim something as mine, I never let it go.

And I’m beginning to realize she was always meant to be mine.

Themes: Paranormal, Magick, Druids

Rating: 4 stars

Heat Rating:

Review:

As this series moves forward it continues to get increasingly more complicated but my understanding is that the next story will be the conclusion and we will see an end to this epic battle and danger. Donna Grant’s Skye Druids series began originally as a spinoff of the Reaper and the Dragon Kings series but it truly became it’s very own magic. The Skye Druids have their own dangerous history, enemies, and battles to fight, but together if they can find out who to truly trust as they become a team they can succeed finally. This latest story was one of the longest in the series and the plot was so filled with twists and flips that you could find yourself lost if you weren’t paying attention every second. Finn, one of the Knights, finally gets his story as he meets a woman that rocks his world but sparks all his red flag warnings from the very beginning. Vaila has been obsessed with Finn for decades, following around the world and determined to make him pay for a murder that changed the trajectory of her entire life and cost her entire family. She is finally ready to strike now that he has settled with all of his friends on the Isle of Skye, getting close to him and befriending him so that when she gets her revenge it will hurt him all the more. Finn knows there is something fishy about Vaila but he is so drawn to her and the more time he spends with her the more he wants her. Soon Vaila begins to question everything she knows about Finn and she has to truly confront their shared past and decide who she can trust and how she will move forward in her life. But when an even more dangerous enemy stands against both Finn and Vaila, they will have to come together along with all the other Knights and their team in order to stay alive. Finn and Vaila are falling deeper into their feelings and find that their chemistry and connection is becoming so much more than either of them ever thought I could be. Finn is the one male that thought he has no chance at finding a mate, knowing that his death was right around the corner but when he meets Vaila he begins to wonder if he might have something more to live for. I loved his cunning, strength, sweetness, and bravery, especially when he was faced with Vaila’s pain and had to help her face her true past. Vaila has spent the past two decades being led by an enemy in the guise of a savior and she never thought of questioning it, but when she finally opened her eyes it was painful to watch her come to terms with all the mistakes she’d made. I didn’t like Vaila much until about 75% through the book when she finally grew up and learned to start questioning for herself instead of just allowing others to lead her by the nose. In the end they found a way to win the battle once again, coming together and kicking some serious backside, but I imagine that if Vaila had opened her mind sooner that battle could have gone much more easily and happened so much sooner. I am looking forward to the finale story and seeing everything finally come to an ending and of course seeing who finds love in that story. Donna Grant don’t fail us now and give us all the ending we’ve been looking forward to since the beginning.

*eARC provided by author for the purpose of an honest and unbiased review. No compensation was provided.

Falling for Bella

Katie Reus

Blurb:

She’s the face of her family’s New Orleans ghost tour company…

Bella has been working with her family at their popular tour company since she was a kid. She loves her city and giving tourists the real history. Even if the rival tour company across the street has been a thorn in their side for years. She’s been doing her best to ignore them, but it’s hard, especially since her recently returned former best friend is back in town and now running the other company. So what if he makes her heart pound whenever he looks at her? He’s the enemy and she wants nothing to do with him.

He’s trying to clean up his family’s mess…

Ansen and Bella used to be best friends, but their feuding families eventually drove a wedge between them. Now that he’s back home to stay, he’s hoping they can put the past behind them—so he proposes they fake a relationship to get their families to declare a truce. The upcoming Halloween festival provides them a chance to grow their businesses and gain more exposure—if only their families will stop their petty squabbles and pranks. If they can pull off that Halloween miracle, maybe he can finally convince Bella that he wants more than friendship from her—and that nothing about his proposal is fake.

Themes: Contemporary, Holiday

Rating: 3.5 stars

Heat Rating:

Review:

I love a short story with all the fun and sweetness of a holiday thrown in but throw in a family feud and what could possibly go wrong. This novella by Katie Reus combines some of my favorite tropes as she brings us a Halloween romance between two New Orleans ghost hunting families that have been rivals for years. Bella and Ansen have been the sensible ones in their families while the others have been pulling pranks on one another and generally making themselves look like idiots. When Ansen approaches Bella with not only a truce but a plan to combine their business and personal lives in a way that could benefit everyone, she is skeptical but willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. Ansen has loved Bella from afar for a while and now that he is back from the military and running his family’s business, he is ready to put in the work needed to get Bella for his own. Now if only they can keep their family from doing anything stupid and causing their budding relationship to be torn apart. I loved the sweetness of Ansen and Bella’s emotional connection and the chemistry between them. Bella is a sassy and smart woman that obviously knows how to get exactly what she wants for herself and even though she knows that she should want Ansen she does and she is willing to admit it. Ansen has wanted Bella for far too long and his determination to claim her for himself now that he is back to stay means nothing will stand in his way. The passion between Bella and Ansen was a bit of a slow burn but since the story was short, I enjoyed that the last chapter was a jump ahead, so we knew that they made a real go of it and got their HEA. I look forward to more Halloween romances in the future from Katie and can only hope they are just as great as Falling for Bella.

*eARC provided by author for the purpose of an honest and unbiased review. No compensation was provided.