In my reading era.

Individual Chapter Ratings

Three Trees to Midnight: ⭐️⭐️⭐️ 3.5

Down Among the Dead Men: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4.5

The Horror of Hormak: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4

Callback: ⭐️⭐️⭐️ 3.5

Luck in the Gardens: ⭐️⭐️⭐️ 3.5

Hunger: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4.5

Murder by Death Mages: ⭐️⭐️⭐️ 3.75

The Streets of Minrathous: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4

The Wigmaker’s Job: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 5 (Lucanis 🥰)

Genitivi Dies in the End: ⭐️ 1

Herold Had the Plan: ⭐️⭐️⭐️ 3.5

An Old Crow’s Oldest Tricks: 4.5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Eight Little Talons: 4.5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Half Up Front: 4 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I accidentally opened it in my E-reader, not meaning to start it when I did. But upon seeing this I thought, "okay?? What the hell, that's wild! I need to know what's going on." And boy am I glad I kept reading. This book gave me frequent Preacher (AMC show) vibes from the start, if you know what I'm talking about, and Preacher just happens to be one of my favorite shows.

This has such a unique plot to anything I've read recently. I found it to be fast-paced, and I absolutely loved all of the characters (and I mean all of them), I can't wait to find out more about them. I. Love. Fury. I know she's a bit standoffish about having friends, but I want to be friends with her (and Roxanne.) Ezra, our vampire MMC, is currently my favorite mate of her's, color me surprised that the playboy with a sense of humor has once again captured my attention. Though I'm certainly interested in finding out more about the other two, since they were more closed off in this book. (Understandably so.)

A lady heir in a world of lords…

Aislinn Darrow was never meant to be her father’s heir, but that was before her selfish brother condemned himself. Now, she must give up her old life to take his place. She should be presiding in her father’s council chamber and serving the people of the Darrowlands—yet time and again, she finds herself straying to the castle smithy, to visit the handsome new blacksmith manning the forge.

A lady can never claim a monster…

Hakon has known all his life his place is in the background. At least at his forge, he can be of use and demonstrate his skills. The life of a halfling is one of halves and pieces, never quite to belong. When he hears of a place that welcomes halflings, he determines to build a new life for himself in the Darrowlands. It is a bittersweet fate to find everything he could ever want there, in a woman he can never have. He knows his green, sooty hands don’t deserve to touch her, but Hakon cannot resist tempting Lady Aislinn back to him, nor indulging in the fantasy of claiming her as his own.

But in a world of lords and politics, a lady such as Aislinn could never truly take a halfling like him to mate and wed—especially when her position as a woman lord and usurper leave her and her people vulnerable. When grasping lords threaten the Darrowlands, prepared to take Aislinn’s hand and land through marriage or force, she must choose—the halfling who loves her or the people who need her.

In the tradition of his renowned father, James J. Butcher's debut novel is a brilliant urban fantasy about a young man who must throw out the magical rule book to solve the murder of his former mentor.

On the streets of Boston, the world is divided into the ordinary Usuals, and the paranormal Unorthodox. And in the Department of Unorthodox Affairs, the Auditors are the magical elite, government-sanctioned witches with spells at their command and all the power and prestige that comes with it.

Grimshaw Griswald Grimsby is... not one of those witches. After flunking out of the Auditor training program and being dismissed as "not Department material," Grimsby tried to resign himself to life as a mediocre witch. But he can't help hoping he'll somehow, someway, get another chance to prove his skill.

That opportunity comes with a price when his former mentor, aka the most dangerous witch alive, is murdered down the street from where he works, and Grimsby is the Auditors' number one suspect. Proving his innocence will require more than a little legwork, and after forming a strange alliance with the retired legend known as the Huntsman and a mysterious being from Elsewhere, Grimsby is abruptly thrown into a life of adventure, whether he wants it or not.

Review: This was my first alien romance book, and I think it was a good one to start with! This really felt like a fairy tale, BUT, make it sci-fi.

I liked the MMC, FMC, AND the side characters. (Except for Chanísh…obviously. eye roll) Oljin (MMC) is such a sweetie; I loved his gentle nature and patience with her. His reserve and decision making when it came to spilling vs not spilling blood. He would make a wonderful Jara.

Speaking of Jaras, I enjoyed learning the Irran’s language alongside Rose (FMC), and I think the word Alara is so pretty?? I appreciated Rose’s determination to survive and her drive to learn everything she could; how she kept a kind heart despite everything she had been through. There was a surprising amount of inspiration in this, and so of course I found myself a little misty-eyed a couple of times.

If you read this book, don’t skip the epilogue or the author’s note! (Thank you to the author for letting us know about Saana and Honhura, it’s like you read my mind, I wanted to know what happened to them. I’m also very excited to know that Rose and Oljin make an appearance later on. I was almost a little upset, haha. I’m also very interested in what's going to happen with Pravil.)

I will definitely be continuing with this series at some point.