redhairedashreads's reviews
4554 reviews

Tempest by Kiki Clark

3.0

 

3 stars - I liked it

I was very happy to jump into this book because I really enjoyed the Kincaid Pack series and wanted to know more about the world. This book starts about a year after the events of that series and so we are finally seeing what has been happening in the parahuman world. A lot has changed and some people are capturing and experimenting on shifters, which is how Ore finds himself falling in Silver Oak territory, injured and with no memory. 

“I’m always paying attention to you. It’s hard to ignore your heart when it lives outside your body.”

While this does have a bit of a slow start, I enjoyed Cash and Ore’s story once it started picking up and we started to find out what happened to Ore.Ore and Cash’s relationship was a fated mate's one but I really liked that they took their time and didn’t just jump right into it. We see them get to know each other and struggle to fight their growing desire for each other. Cash was very protective of Ore, which isn’t surprising since he is an Enforcer, but we quickly find that he is super sweet and great with kids. I loved the lake scene and how Cash was with the cubs. Ore was a kind and gentle man who just wanted peace and to find love, and he found it with Cash. 

The end mission was great because we are starting to see how this new parahuman world will hopefully work. The Kincaid pack, the Amato pack, and the Silver Oak pack all worked together to deal with an issue and take care of shifters who needed help. I really enjoyed this collaboration and look forward to seeing more collabs in the future, especially with previous couples. 

Overall, this was a great start for a new spin-off series and a great continuation of this world. I really enjoy this world and the couples within it. I can’t wait to read the next book. 

TW: child abandonment mentioned; past stalking/ unwanted advances mentioned; medical torture; 

*ARC provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.*

 

Your Coffin or Mine by Jacklyn Hyde

4.0

 

4 stars - It was really good

When Audrey catches her soon to be husband with two other people she finds herself running to a quiet castle in Romania. While Vlad’s ancestral castle is being turned into a hotel and Audrey needs a place to lick her wounds, these two find themselves unable to keep their hands off one another. 

This was a very enjoyable vampire romance. I was hooked to Vlad and Audrey’s story from the very beginning. Vlad is a grumpy ancient vampire who has spent way too much time wasting away in his castle. Watching Vlad go from the withered and grumpy vampire who wants nothing to do with this day and age to doing a 180 and trying to learn everything and seduce Audrey was very enjoyable. I really loved seeing Vlad try to seduce her and it did not go according to plan because he didn’t understand modern women. Vlad was a grump with a marshmallow center and I loved him so much. 

“You are the loveliest thing in existence…You make the stars look like cheap fluorescent lightbulbs”

Audrey is running from her ex-fiance who she caught cheating on her. She changes her honeymoon to a trip to Romania and finds herself quickly falling for the handsome, and very quirky and clueless Vlad. While I didn’t love how caught up Audrey was in appearances on social media and making good impressions, I did like that by the end we see her stand up for herself and her happiness. 

Audrey and Vlad’s relationship was super sweet, sexy, and fun. I loved watching these two fall in love. Vlad’s struggle to hide that he was a vampire was very amusing and I really enjoyed his inner monologue any time he was trying to control himself. Audrey fell hard but was still dealing with her ex and all the social media drama he was creating. It was an enjoyable relationship but it did feel a bit long at times. 

The world building in this was fascinating and right up my alley. This is a world where monsters are hidden from humans and they go through great lengths to keep it that way. In this book we are introduced to a few of the monsters, most of which you will be familiar with because they are the classic horror monsters: Vlad Tepesh, Frankenstein, and Jekyll. While not all of these characters are good people in this book, I still really liked them all for different reasons. Overall, I can’t wait to read the next book and see who falls next and what other monsters will appear. 

TW: cheating discussed (not main MCs); toxic parents; body shaming; alcohol consumption; 

Berserk, Vol. 1 by Kentaro Miura

4.0

 

4 stars - It was really good

This has been on my radar for a long time to read and I have finally dived into Guts’ story. This is a dark fantasy world that is very graphic. While I don’t usually enjoy dark fantasy, especially with a main character that isn’t very likable, I am enjoying this so far. Guts is a violent and dangerous man who is determined to get the information he is after and he doesn’t care who dies along the way. While we don’t get a lot of backstory or character development yet, I am still very interested in Guts and finding out why he is the way he is. 

Overall, this is a very captivating story so far and I am very interested in reading the next book. Miura’s artwork is so detailed and beautiful it really goes great with how graphic and dark this story is.   

TW:  violence, death, torture, cannibalism, beheading, animal death 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Blood, Cannibalism, Violence, Torture, and Animal death

Dinosaur Sanctuary, Vol. 4 by Itaru Kinoshita

3.0

 

3 stars - I liked it

This volume picks up right where the previous volume ended with Blue World. We learn more about the story of why Blue World doesn’t provide more information about the creatures within its walls to its guests and we learn the story of how they got Sophia, their main attraction. I liked that we got to see more of Igarashi Keisuke’s story and the reasoning why he left Blue World for Enoshima Dinoland. Also, I really liked seeing what other dino centers are like. 

The rest of the volume is back to Enoshima Dinoland, and Suma Suzume’s continued training with the dinosaurs and her new gig as social media manager for the park. Suzume is struggling to get people interested in her posts even though she seems to be capturing some great parts of the dinosaurs, that is until she captures Momijo’s smile and gets a lot of attention from it. While I do like that we see Suzume continue to pursue her passion of sharing dinosaurs with the world, I will admit this part of the story isn’t as interesting to me as the dinosaur training and capturing. 

Next we see Suzume work with Kaidou Arata to capture a smuggled velociraptor that had escaped. It was a very interesting mission because up to this point we have only seen more fear around dino outbreaks but with this it was a more quiet and chill animal rescue situation, probably because it was a smaller dinosaur. I enjoyed this mission and how they worked to figure out where the velociraptor was and trap it safely, without injuring it or any humans. Suzume and Kaidou work really well together and I like when they get partnered up. 

This volume ends with Suzume getting partnered up with the armored dinosaur worker Katase, who she doesn’t get along with very well. They are creating and rehoming the young the ankylosaurus and theropods off to other dinolands because they are now old enough to leave. Katase continues to be a bit of an ass to Suzume because he doesn’t like the way she does things and so he is very rude to her when it comes to training. 

The situation with Katase at the end of this volume shows that while Suzume has come far since the first volume, she still has a lot to learn. Yes she should have to deal with Katase being rude to her for doing things different from him, but she should have also gone to him and double checked who got what food when it came to the dinosaurs. While she just made more work for Katase this time, it could have easily been something dangerous to the dinosaurs and that is why you get over your pride and ask when you don’t remember things. 

Overall, this was another good volume. I am enjoying seeing more of Dinoland and the other dinosaurs within it. I look forward to reading more of this series and seeing what happens next for the zoo and for Suzume.

 

Ancient Egypt: A Photographic History by Nigel Fletcher-Jones

4.0

5 stars for the photographs

3 stars for the text 

The majority of people are probably going to pick up this book for the photographs within it, not for the text but it isn’t strictly just photos so the text also needs to be reviewed. The photographs within were beautiful and really were what drew me to picking up this book, and are probably what will draw most people to this book. This would be a beautiful book to just flip through and admire the beauty of ancient Egypt, but the text included with the photos was not so great. 

The text itself was sometimes dense, sometimes confusing, and sometimes sparse. Because this is such a brief overview of ancient Egypt from beginning to end it does need to be a very quick version, but some sections felt very dense and confusing. This was partially because at times there were whole paragraphs where it was just rapid succession of rulers' names, most of which were the same name just a change in roman numerals. A timeline would have got the same information across without being so dense. 

Overall, if you are looking for a photography book on ancient Egypt I would recommend this book, but if you are picking this up for the text, be aware that it is very condensed and might be a bit confusing at times. 

*ARC provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.*

 

Find Me Worthy by Annabeth Albert

4.0

 

4 stars - It was really good

After reading about Worth for the past two books I was eager to finally read his story. This book was filled with both wonderfully sweet moments but also heartbreaking ones. 

Worth has hit rock bottom and finds himself back in Safe Harbor, back in the house he never thought he would be in again. As soon as Sam see’s Worth again, he realizes how close to breaking he is and becomes concerned he will do something extreme. He welcomes Worth into his home, offers him a job, and forces him to get the medical help he needs. While Worth slowly gets better, he finds himself falling for Sam, and Sam for him. 

This was a very emotional and very sweet story. I really enjoyed Sam and Worth’s story from the very beginning. Sam was a sweetheart who has spent his life taking care of everyone and is determined to become a foster parent. He does everything he can to help foster kids, especially those who are struggling with mental health, so when he sees how Worth is struggling he jumps right in to help. I loved how Sam wasted no time in forcing Worth to seek help and forced him to go to therapy, and not rely solely on Sam for improvement.  

Worth really grows throughout this book. We see him go from rock bottom where he is suicidal, to finding some happiness and getting help, to resolving some past issues, and finally making future plans with Sam. We also find that Worth likes to be dominated and craves direction and a bit of pain, and Sam quickly realizes he is a caretaker Dom. Sam and Worth were just a wonderful couple with great chemistry. 

Overall, this was a wonderful couple and a great conclusion to this series. I really enjoyed these three stories and look forward to reading more small town romances from Albert.

TW: suicidal thoughts; depression; PTSD; Worth's mother was murdered; death of a sister mentioned; 

Cretaceous Crushes by Kelex

3.0

 

3 stars - I liked it

The overall rating is the average of the following ratings. 

Jurassic Spark by Pandora Pine

4 stars - It was really good

This was a short but sweet story about a paleontologist who accidentally reveals he is a dinosaur shifter during a one night stand. Gibson and Cooper's story was incredibly sweet and I love how their story played out. Also I was not expecting Cooper's reveal at the end there. 

Grow A Spinosaurus by RS McKenzie

3 stars - I liked it

This was a sweet story about a songwriter who is interested in a monster sighting in the ocean but instead falls for the local bartender, who happens to be a Spinosaurus. These two had very cute interactions and I loved how much August blushed. 

Fossil Beds Bed & Breakfast by Siobhan Muir

3 stars - I liked it

This was a great story about two dinos shifters who are fighting to prevent their town from being seized by rich land developers and in the process meet. I really liked Maya and Peria’s story. It was very cute and sweet. They had instant chemistry and I liked seeing them scare off the vandals together in dino form. Also Maya’s two kids were great side characters and I was surprised by their reveal at the end. 

Jurassic Measures by Davidson King

DNF chapter 4

I don't like Landry at all. He is pushy, doesn't respect Jason when he tells him no he doesn't want to go on a date with him, and really comes across as a stalker. Also not really feeling any chemistry between these two because of this so I am just going to DNF. I did like Jason though. 

Toeing the Line by MZ Arthur

2 stars - It was ok

This was an ok story about a paleontologist who is trying to get access to a holiday park where a dinosaur bone was found but is getting refused by the owners. Matt and Rhys were ok but I didn't really love Matt. I feel like he was too used to getting his way and didn't respect Rhys and his family when they told him no the first time. I also didn't like how he tried to get Rhys' father and grandfather drunk to get access that way. 

Dino Love and Alpha Knots by Kota Quinn

3 stars - I liked it

This was a sweet story about Special Agent Garrett Seela finally finding his fated mate but they are a human omega. Garrett and Reese were very cute and sweet together. I really enjoyed how Garrett tried to go slow to win over Reece but they both couldn’t really fight their instincts. 

Also just as an FYI, there is no MPreg in this story.

The Alberto Effect by Nikki Prince

4 stars - It was really good

This was a wonderful second chance, fated mates story. Alberto had a terrible childhood which caused him to push the one man who was his mate away and now five years later on a blind date Jameson finally finds him again and gets his second chance. Al and Jay’s story was very emotional and shows how trauma can be overcome with the right help and the right partner. I really enjoyed Al and Jay’s relationship and loved that we see Al apologizing in the end and making strides to overcome his trauma. 

TW: mentions of rough home life as a child; manipulative mother; father struggled with alcohol before he died; 

The Dinostore by Kiernan Kelly

4 stars - It was really good

This was an interesting life mates story because the dinosaur shifters are actually a race of aliens (Saurians) who originally came to Earth and seeded it with dinosaurs, then returned centuries later to find out they went extinct and decided to present humans with micro dinosaurs as pets instead. Vic is a Saurian, a Dryasaurus shifter to be exact, who sells mini dinosaurs at his shop and one day meets Bron a human dino salesman who is trying to sell some more exotic mini dinosaurs. This was a very fast paced and fated mates story but Vic and Bron were very cute together. I also really love the whole idea of alien dino shifters and mini dinosaur pets. It was just a very fun story and I would totally read more in this world. 

Mikel’s Mage by Annie Taylor

2 stars - It was ok

TW: mentions of homomisia, child abuse, starvation, conversion therapy, bullying, death of parents and child kidnapping. 

This was a different kind of shifter story than all the rest. Mikel is a dinosaur mage and he finds this out when he is locked by the elders in his coven into his T-Rex form to try and prevent him from using magic. His teenage bodyguard/crush Indiana returns and helps him figure out the spell and reveals the truth of his past. Mikel and Indys story was interesting because it was a very unique take on dinosaur shifting but I didn't find some aspects of the story confusing. I am a bit confused about how old Indy is compared to Mikel and why he required a bodyguard to begin with as a teen. Mikel and Indys relationship was a bit abrupt with Mikel being angry at being abandoned by him to instantly forgive him and admitting his feelings. I was expecting a bit more conversation about their relationship and feelings but it got overshadowed by why the elders wanted Mikel. 

I also am a bit confused on how the magic system works in this world and how the shifter aspect actually integrated with it. We get a very brief explanation but I still have questions about how this works. 

The Saurian’s Bargain by April Andrews

2 stars - It was ok

This story was ok. The setting was unique and the dinosaurs were cool but I wasn't really captivated by Jora’s story. The world was more interesting to me. 

A Boy Called Blu by JP Sayle

Weird & Wacky Shifters series

3 stars - I liked it

I wasn't expecting to read a potato shifter book in a dinosaur anthology but here we are. This was a daddy kink/fated mates story with Trike, a deinoychus shifter, and Blu, a potato shifter. I enjoyed this but do feel like a lot of things going on in this world were left unfinished, but that probably will get solved in the potato shifter series. 

His Triceratops Omega by Katy Manz

GSC in Love series

3 stars - I liked it

Omega witch Damien attempts a spell to become a wolf shifter like the rest of his family, unfortunately it goes wrong and he finds himself turned into a triceratops. Hudson, a dragon shifter, is sent by the Global Shifter Council to help Damien and his coven try to reverse the spell before humans find out. 

This was an interesting fated mates/mpreg story. I liked the idea of witches who could also be shifters and a global shifter council. I still am very new to mreg stories and don't really love pregnancy in romance in general but it wasn't the end so I didn't mind it. 

The Dino Whisperer by DK Sutton

2 stars - It was ok

This was an ok story about a dinosaur shifter clothier who finds himself helping a reluctant shifter and dealing with a mob boss at the same time. While I liked aspects of this story, I feel like parts of the story were missing and I was just left with a lot of questions in the end. 

Craving the Carnivore by Kelex

3 stars - I liked it

This was a very interesting scifi story with dinosaurs shifters being created by an alien species who are also protecting two alien dinosaurs worlds, one for shifters and one for regular dinosaurs. Avi and Erik’s story was very interesting and sweet. I really liked that they both had been crushing on each other for over a year but it takes Avi’s recent discovery to finally push them together. I would totally read more books set in this world. 

A Debt Repaid by Maz Maddox 

3 stars - I liked it

This was a very cute story with a human who rescues a weird looking bird from a bundle of wire but quickly finds out it's not a bird, it's a dinosaur shifter. I really enjoyed Zack and Ru’s story. It was short, sweet, and showed that finding the right person can really help you get over an ex-boyfriend. Also, if we get more RELIC shorts in the future, I hope these two pop up. 

 

How to Save a Human by Alice Winters

3.0

 

3 stars - I liked it

FYI, this book’s timeline spans books two and three of this series so don’t read this book until you read them, unless you don’t mind a few spoilers.

After reading the previous books, I didn’t expect this book to be DeGray’s book because he has been the quiet, normal one of the bunch and I believed he was with someone already, but as we come to find out in this book it was all a lie. We quickly find that Bentley may be the normal one of the group, but he is also lonely and struggling with the fact that he will soon be alone in this world. His last remaining family member is slowly dying and he is struggling with it, but then he meets River and things start to change. 

River starts as a quirky guy who is a bit afraid of vampires but puts himself out there because he is attracted to Bentley. We quickly learn that River isn’t all what he appears but that isn’t because of evil intent, but because of threats against himself and his family. I really felt for River and all the trauma he went through. River and Bently’s relationship was very emotional and filled with a lot of trials that brought them closer together. Unlike previous books, this one was a bit more sedate and not as action packed, but the hurt/ comfort was very high and made for a very emotional and captivating story. 

Overall, this was another great book for the series. I did enjoy seeing another VRC member fall in love and find happiness, I just wish it hadn’t been so traumatizing for them. I look forward to reading the next one and returning to the OG couple and their hilarious conversations. 

TW: terminal illness, death of a family member, grief, human trafficking, kidnapping, violence, death, PTSD. 

The Beloved by J.R. Ward

4.0

 

4 stars - It was really good

After reading Lassiter’s book, I will admit I was hesitant to read this because I had a lot of issues with bringing back the Lessening Society and Wrath’s 30 year disappearance. But since this is how the story has played out, I decided to see what will happen next and see what the brotherhood’s children are now like since they are all grown up. While I am still not happy with how this has played out, I did enjoy this story because it was reminiscent of the early BDB books, which are my favorite. 

Nalla is struggling to live her life under the cage of being Zsadist daughter. We see her push back at both her father and mother about how she felt and basically leave to live at Safe Place for a while. Nalla may be sheltered but we quickly realize she is her fathers daughter. I love seeing her come out of her shell and embrace fighting for what she wants, both physically and verbally. It doesn’t surprise me that Nalla can kickass and doesn’t back down from a fight with who her parents are. 

I will be honest, I didn’t remember who Nate was when I started this book. Nate is Sarah and Murhder’s adopted son that they rescued from a human research lab and who was later resurrected by Rahvyn and now cannot die. Nate is now a dangerous and reckless adult who has been outed from the BDB because they can’t rely on him. He struggles under the weight of his childhood and the reality of never being able to die. Nate was a great character who I loved getting to know and he reminded me so much of Zsadist, especially in how he felt alone until he found the right person to love him. 

One of the best parts of this book is the character growth from both Nalla and Nate. Nalla starts as a woman who still views her parents through a child's lens and struggles to understand why she was left out sometimes and by the end realizes they are humans who were dealing with a traumatic past and trying to raise a child. Nate goes from unfeeling and just wanting to die, to finding his mate and realizing life is precious and he is grateful he can’t die on her while fighting. 

While I still don’t love the progression of this series, I did really enjoy Nate and Nalla’s story, but like I said in the beginning I still have issues that the Lessers were brought back.  The war against the Lessening Society is basically back where we were with book one and I am disappointed in that but hopefully we don’t have to go through 20 more books before it ends again. I did enjoy seeing all the reunions with the brothers and Wrath, especially Wrath and Fitz’s reunion. I am still waiting to see more bonding between Wrath and his son though. 

Basically, while I am conflicted about this series, I still enjoyed this one a lot more than I expected and will be reading the next one now, especially to see what is going on between Bitty and L.W.  

TW: discussions of experimentation, imprisonment, self-harm, suicide, slavery, and death of a parent; PTSD and nightmares; car accident; gun and knife violence and injuries; 

*ARC provided by Gallery Books and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.*

 

Magic Tides & Magic Claims by Ilona Andrews

4.5

<b>Magic Tides</b>
<b>Series:</b> Kate Daniels: Wilmington Years #1
<b>Rating:</b> 4 stars - It was really good

Kate, Curran, and their son, Conlan have left Atlanta and have settled into Wilmington. Their plan to keep a low profile quickly gets abandoned when Kate finds that a child has been kidnapped. While Kate hunts the kidnappers, Curran and Conlan protect their new home and the people within it. 

I am so happy that we are getting more Kate and Curran stories. She is no longer the reckless hunter we first met, she is now a mother to an extremely smart 8 year old shifter. She has learned to temper some of her responses but she is still as deadly as ever. I love that motherhood hasn’t changed Kate’s deadly nature, if anything it's made her even more ruthless. 

Curran may no longer be the Beast Lord but he is still the leader and protector he always was. I loved seeing him teach Conlan and praise him for his abilities. Curran and Kate definitely have a very strong marriage and I love how they trust each other, especially when it comes to fighting. 

Wilmington seems to be an interesting town filled with some powerful people. The kidnapper provided an interesting challenge for Kate. I enjoyed seeing her think on her feet and fight using her abilities. I feel like we barely got to see that in the previous series and now she has no problem utilizing everything she has learned. It made for a very fast paced and interesting battle. Overall, I love this and can't wait for more books in this series. 

<b> Magic Claims</b>
<b>Series:</b> Kate Daniels: Wilmington Years #2
<b>Rating:</b> 5 stars - I loved it!

Well this was just as amazing as I was hoping. Kate and Curran may have settled into a new low profile life but they quickly realize that it will never stay that way. When they are asked to save a town held hostage by a mysterious evil they find themselves fighting an unexpected enemy and reevaluating their lives. 

Kate and Curran continue to be one of my all time favorite couples. With each book I continue to fall more in love with these two and this book just continued that feeling. I loved seeing these two have frank discussions about their lives and how they made difficult decisions in the past that were necessary at the time but not exactly right in the long run. It’s wonderful to read an urban fantasy where I don’t have to worry about relationship troubles because these two are solid and completely understand each other. Also, I love how these two accept each other how they are and have never tried to change each other. 

The evil in this book was extremely interesting. The magic and shifters introduced in this book was very unexpected and really kept me on the edge of my seat. Not only are we continuing to get new magic and creatures, but they continue to expand this world by introducing new towns and people. I am always amazed at this world that Ilona Andrews has created and how they continue to expand upon it.

Overall, this was an action packed book that I couldn’t put down. I am very eager to see what will happen next for Kate and Curran, especially since they are no longer trying to hide away. Also, I really hope we see more of Conlan in the future because he continues to be a very interesting child and I love how these two are raising him.