#reader recommendations

Here’s five SPOOOOOKY fics for your Halloween pleasure!

Trade in All Our Silver Bullets by hopeless_eccentric. T. 18k. Complete.

The only thing between Juno Steel’s head and the growling, pacing storm above was the dingy roof of an even dingier tavern. It had taken him nearly half an hour just to adjust his eyes, for the dreary corner in which he sat was lit only by a dying candle stub, holding on for dear life against the wind from the leaky windows.

If Juno had his choice, he would have been anywhere else. However, the hooded figure in the corner had caught his eye and snared his curiosity.

Juno’s a vampire hunter. Nureyev’s a vampire. What more could you ask for?

Recommended by @jet-siquliak​

Haunting, but not haunted by Ernmark. E. 12k. Complete.

Nureyev rents an apartment while he's casing his next target; little does he know that the apartment is haunted by the ghost of a long dead detective.

Juno’s haunting his old apartment, and he makes himself a nuisance for Nureyev. It’s very, very good.

Recommended by Mod Mag

Peter Nureyev and the Guardian Angels by ser_atlantisite. G. 5k. Complete.

“So, this is it,” Peter whispered. “The Court of the Angels.”

Where Brahma’s Guardian Angels received visions of the future, visions of murderers and victims and the bloody acts themselves, and deigned to send out their emissaries to apprehend the guilty before they ever were. To save humanity from themselves. For the good of all, the government insisted.

Funny, how often the angels predicted crimes to be committed by those who drew the government’s ire.

Whatever the truth of the program was, it ended today.

In which the Guardian Angels are a bit more, um, alive than in canon. 

Recommended by @seratlantisite​

when the wolfsbane blooms by goinghost. T. 2.9k. Complete.

The first time Buddy saw Vespa transform, it wasn’t by choice.

She knew that she needed to tell her. Not only were they partners-in-crime, but they were also partners. You could only keep the fact that you turned into a hulking furry monster every 50 days (the standard length of the Rangian moon cycle) from the person you were living with for 50 days or so. Then the hulking furry monster was out of the bag.

--

Vespa is a werewolf. Buddy can't say she expected that.

Really cute werewolf fic, published just in time for Halloween!

Recommended by Mod Mag

jokes about my condition by MissjuliaMiriam. M. 1.8k. Complete.

Juno wakes up face-down in an alley and knows right away that this time isn't like every other time. Something is wrong. Something is very, very wrong.

Vampire!Juno fic!!! Hell yeah!!! 

Zara and Jeremais. The butterfly and the Fox.

**Presented with an ARC by the author via BookFunnel in exchange for an honest review.**

There is a certain poetry to their story, the dance they’ve done over the years as they’ve each grown from child to young adults to grown and mature. At the beginning of the book is a small dictionary of sorts for the terms you will find scattered throughout the book, the bits of native language(s) for the characters offering a deeper authenticity.

Eliza comes to us once again with the second installment of The Antonion Brotherhood, a story of passion and grace, electricity and fire. And for a short story, you find yourself falling deeply into their world and riding the waves of passion and emotions with them. It truly is an incredible experience and one I highly recommend.

Hey guys!

So I’ve been stuck at home because I messed up my leg and haven’t been able to walk....so to fill the void of time, I’ve been reading.

If y’all have any stories you’re obsessed with or promote , send them my way!

Help save this woman from boredom 😂

(Bonus points for plus size reader or soulmate au)

The Gifted Fae Academy Collection by Brittni Chenelle

I had originally received the first book as an ARC from the author before getting the trilogy as an ARC via HiddenGems. I have been absolutely blown away by Brittni’s writing and the story itself.

A few things you should know up front. First off, each of these books is so enthralling and consuming that you will find yourself thinking about the book long after you’ve read it, a bit like being (happily) trapped in the event horizon of a supermassive black hole. The second thing, books 1 & 2 lead into the third. They are not meant, in any manner, to be stand alone novels. If either or both of those things don’t sound appealing to you, go ahead and turn around now. I won’t judge.

If you’re still with me . . . the one thing I can tell you for certain is that you are in for one hell of a ride.

Though marked as a bully romance, I personally wouldn’t classify it as such. There is so much more to Kaito and Reina than that. The richness and depth of their shared histories, the pasts and experience that shape them both individually while braiding them together with such an unshakeable bond at the same time. Don’t get me wrong, Kaito is a hell of a jackass sometimes, but don’t think Reina’s a shrinking violet, either. She gives as good as she gets.

When it comes to the story overall, there are so many things I could comment on, innumerable focuses I could craft this review around. I could tell you about the richness of the world building, with the structure and equal struggles of society at large. I could tell you about the littlest details that make these books so special, that bring you into the hearts and minds of Reina and Kaito, the friends who support them, and the rivals that push them to be better.

I could even lament the poetic flow of Britini’s writing, how it’s almost as though the words are being whispered and sung into existence in your very psyche, to hold you and haunt you long after you’ve completed this trilogy.

I could even tell you how I only put each of these books down only because I needed to sleep, only to pick them back up again at my next opportunity. But in truth, what held me so captivated was the warmth and depth of her characters. Reina and Kaito come through in such a way that you forget you’re reading.

Oden, Briara, Yemoja Roux, and Zane Blaque, each character is so vibrant, no matter if they’re the stars or the supporting cast. You forget that these people are fictional characters living in a world of one woman’s amazing creation.

One thing I truly love is how the ending of book one leads you into the beginning of book two. And the end of book two leads you into the beginning of the final act. You are kept on the edge of your seat from the beginning to the very end. Be prepared to have tissues on one side of you and your favorite social drink on the other. As many places as you may find yourself laughing, you’ll find yourself screaming in frustration, crying with Reina, or cheering on Kaito as he fights for what he truly believes in when he meets DT.

It really is quite an amazing read that I can’t recommend enough. If you like Stephanie Rowe, A.D. Winter, Mary Fan, Megan Blackwood, or Allison Rose, you will love this book.

As a side note, I’m a big fan of music across multiple genres, and when it comes to Kaito and Reina, they each have a song that fits to them in my head.

Kaito: ‘Keepin’ Me Alive’ by Jonathan Roy

Reina: ‘Fight Song’ by Rachel Platten

Kaito & Reina as both a pair of warriors together in their fight: ‘Thunder’ by Imagine Dragons.

I need some absolutely gut-wrenching angst recommendations. Will accept Bucky Barnes (or other Seb characters), Spencer a Reid, Jensen Ackles or any of his characters.

Bonus points if there’s no happy ending but that’s not a big requirement.

A powerful journey of loss and love!

I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.

“And at that moment when the dream turned into a nightmare, as she stood before a wide-eyed audience, Ravenna realized that she didn’t want Darius to leave.”

That line may be the most powerful one of all in this book. In a sea of powerful moments and deep emotions, that one line shines like a beacon in the darkness and puts a knife’s edge focus on all that was and all that has yet to be. There is so much I want to say but it would spoil the story. Instead, I shall leave you with this.

A Countess Betrayed, the first book in the Storyville Saga is a tale of lost hopes and broken dreams, of survival and building walls, only to evolve into something so devastatingly beautiful and bittersweet. This is a story I highly recommend. Jade Alters has a way of weaving the story in such a manner that you don’t realize how much you’ve fallen in love until you find yourself suddenly at the end with a heart full of emotions and a mind spinning with all the twists and turns you’ve seen the characters through.

The twists and turns. Pure magic!

Book received as an ARC from the author.

To start off with, as a word of warning to those interested in reading this book, let me tell you a little secret and a little advice. You won’t want to put this book down. Not for one second. Not even to eat. But you’ll need to, if only to save the heartache that comes with knowing a book is over. Stephanie’s writing will capture you mercilessly, hold you tight in bonds of intrigue and lust, angst and romance. You won’t know it’s over until it’s too late, until you have nothing more left to read, and then you’ll be lost to the wonder and heartache that is “book hangover”.

Brody and Tatum come alive in these pages. The supporting cast around them, just as vibrant. There is such suspense here, intrigue and mystery around each corner. Pieces of shared histories are discovered slowly, like a rosebud not entirely sure it’s ready to bloom until at last it has.

And the twist, the big twist? You never see that coming. But that’s the magic of Stephanie’s writing. It’s what draws you in and what makes it impossible to read slowly. To savor every last word as you wish so deeply you could. Oh, but their story stays with you long after. The emotions of it, the way simply thinking of Tatum Crosby or Brody Hart can make your pulse race, your breath catch in your throat, as you bite down on your lower lip or the tip of your nail—to keep from smiling like you know something everyone else doesn’t or to keep silent the sounds you make when emotions overwhelm you; you may never know.