Starry-Eyed Love by Helena Hunting

Charming, hilarious, and emotional, Starry-Eyed Love is Helena Hunting at her very best!

Having just broken up with her boyfriend, London Spark is not in the mood to be hit on. Especially not when she’s out celebrating her single status with her sisters. So when a very attractive man pays for their drinks and then slips her his number, she passes it right back to him with a ‘thanks, but no thanks.’ As the business administrator for their family’s event hotel, the Spark House, London has more important things to worry about, like bringing in new clientele.

As luck would have it, a multi-million-dollar company calls a few months later asking for a meeting to discuss a potential partnership, and London is eager to prove to her sisters, and herself, that she can land this deal. Just when she thinks she has nailed her presentation, the company’s CEO, Jackson Holt, walks in and inserts himself into the meeting. Not only that, but he also happens to be the same guy she turned down at the bar a few months ago.

As they begin to spend more time together, their working relationship blossoms into something more. It isn’t until their professional entanglements are finally over, that London and Jackson are finally ready to take the next step in their relationship. But between Jackson’s secretive past and London’s struggle with her sisters, London must question where she really stands – not just with Jackson, but with the Spark House, too.

Don’t miss our reviews of the rest of the Spark House series!
For book one, When Sparks Fly, click HERE.

 

 

Book 2
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St. Martin’s Griffin (Macmillan)

 

 

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Ruthie – ☆☆☆☆
This is the second book in the series, and I would recommend that you read them in order, as the story is ongoing.

London and her sisters, Avery and Harley, run their family hotel business now that their grandmother has retired. Whilst this was Avery's lifelong ambition, London had a completely different dream that she has put on hold to support her much loved offspring. As the business manager a lot of responsibility lies with her and is keen to partner with an organisation which will guarantee their long-term future.

By a twist of fate, a group who offers support to environmentally friendly businesses happens to have at its head the very man who asked London out months earlier. So now London must weigh up the value to the business with the chemistry that she feels for someone who she should not date due to the conflict of interest. Jackson, as the head of Holt Media, is also aware of the optics, but his feelings for London are so unexpected and so strong that he knows he has to get the deal done sooner, leaving him free to enjoy her company. It cleverly adds the frisson of illicit romance without it really being wrong, which I found fun. Their relationship feels very genuine, and it is impossible not to want them to work out the issues which they face.

I enjoyed the sisters' interactions as they work together and manage the competing demands on their time. I wish we could see what London's craft creations look like, but I can certainly see her sitting making tiny stars!

I am already looking forward to the next installment, as we will get to see more of this new romance, and also see whether Harley can find her happily ever after too.

 

 

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author HELENA HUNTING lives outside of Toronto with her amazing family and her two awesome cats, who think the best place to sleep is her keyboard. She writes all things romance – contemporary, romantic comedy, sports, and angsty new adult. Some of her books include Meet Cute, Pucked, and Shacking Up. Helena loves to bake cupcakes and has been known to listen to a song on repeat 1512 times while writing a book, and if she has to be away from her family, she prefers to be in warm weather with her friends.

Connect with Helena Hunting

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Facebook Group: Helena Hunting's Beaver Den

 

 

ARC provided by

Reviewers on the Wicked Reads Review Team were provided a free copy of Starry-Eyed Love (Spark House #2) by Helena Hunting to read and review.

Once Upon a Sexy Scrooge by Ella Frank & Brooke Blaine Release Blitz

Ah, Christmas. The most magical time of the year. A time when the snow is falling, cider is flowing, and couples are kissing under the mistletoe.

Too bad all that makes me want to gag.

Look, it isn’t that I’m a hater, it’s just that I have a job to do, and this particular holiday is getting in the way of that. And I know what you’ll say, that Micah Noble’s Christmas Tree Farm is a beloved tradition for many of the families of Merrihill, but you have to see the bigger picture here: a five-star luxury resort where overworked Manhattanites can escape to, a serene place of spas and shopping and watching sexy lumberjacks chopping wood…

Oh, wait, scratch that last one. Lumberjacks aren’t my thing. Anymore. Micah Noble cured me of that, which tends to happen when you’re trying to buy someone’s family land to bulldoze to the ground.

He can call me a Scrooge all he wants, but business is business, and pleasure is… well, not something I can afford to think about. Even if it does come packaged in those tight jeans and flannel shirts that make me want to rip them off with my teeth—

No. This is not happening. I will not think of Micah as anything other than an obstacle to getting what I want. A really, really sexy obstacle.

Ugh. Screw Christmas and the sleigh it rode in on.

A sweet and sexy m/m holiday romance coming soon from USA Today bestselling authors Ella Frank and Brooke Blaine.

 

 

Buy Links

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Paperback (US)
~  Also Available with KindleUnlimited  ~

 

 

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Angie – ☆☆☆☆☆
I've been in a Christmas mood for weeks now, way earlier than normal for me. I've watched countless Christmas movies on TV and shockingly, this was my first Christmas book this year. I loved everything about it and honestly, it could be turned into a Christmas movie. Max and Micah are both from different worlds but are sooo good together. Luckily for us, Mother Nature puts the two together and we have an amazing story. This is a great Sunday afternoon read with a fire going and cocoa by your side. So much love, laughter, and some steamy, sexy times from this zero-angst book. Another awesome book from these amazing authors.


Ruthie – ☆☆☆☆
This is a really fun, sexy, and fabulously Christmassy read! Max is on the career path to the top and needs to buy this land to get his next promotion. But he finds that Micah has no intention of selling... and is intent on showing him why.

The fact that Max and Micah find each other irresistible is a complication which is exacerbated when they are snowed in together. We get to just sit back and enjoy the thawing of Max, as Micah works his magic. His family also play a fun part in the awakening of Scrooge, and supporting the Christmas business run at the farm.

A lovely way to get you in the mood for the Christmas season!

 

 

ELLA FRANK is the USA Today bestselling author of the Temptation series, including Try, Take, and Trust and is the co-author of the fan favorite PresLocke series. Her Prime Time series has been praised as “highly entertaining!” and “sexy as hell!”

A life-long fan of the romance genre, Ella writes contemporary and erotic fiction.

Some of her favorite authors include Tiffany Reisz, Kresley Cole, Riley Hart, J.R. Ward, Erika Wilde, Gena Showalter, and Carly Philips.

Connect with Ella Frank

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Facebook Group: Brooke & Ella's Naughty Umbrella

BROOKE BLAINE is a USA Today bestselling author best known for writing romantic comedy and M/M romance. Her novels lead with humor and heart, but Brooke never shies away from throwing in something extra naughty that will scandalize her conservative Southern family for life (bless their hearts).

She's a choc-o-holic, lives for eighties bands (which means she thinks guyliner is totally underrated), believes it's always wine o'clock, and lives with the coolest cat on the planet—her Ragdoll/Maine Coon mix, Jackson Agador Spartacus.

Connect with Brooke Blaine

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Facebook Group: Brooke & Ella's Naughty Umbrella

 

 

 

Hosted by

Reviewers on the Wicked Reads Review Team were provided a free copy of Once Upon a Sexy Scrooge by Ella Frank & Brooke Blaine to read and review.

The Lost by Jeffrey B. Burton

The Lost is the next mystery from author Jeffrey B. Burton starring an extraordinary cadaver dog and her handler.

Glencoe, Illinois: A home invasion turned kidnapping at the mansion of billionaire financier Kenneth J. Druckman brings Mason “Mace” Reid and his cadaver dog, Vira, to this wealthy northern suburb of Chicago. Druckman was assaulted, left behind while his wife and young daughter were taken for ransom.

Brought to the scene by the FBI, Reid specializes in human remains detection, and Vira is the star of his pack of cadaver dogs he’s dubbed The Finders. After Vira finds the dead body of the mother, former supermodel Calley Kurtz, everyone is on high alert to find Druckman’s missing daughter before the five-year-old disappears forever. But the trail Vira finds on the property’s dense woodlands leads right back to Druckman himself.

With the help of Detective Kippy Gimm, Reid and Vira must race against the clock. Nothing is as it appears to be... and the red herrings could be lethal.

Don’t miss our reviews of the rest of the Mace Reid K-9 Mystery series!
For book one, The Finders, click HERE.
For book two, The Keepers, click HERE.

 

 

Book 3
Buy Links

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Apple Books  ~  B&N  ~  Google Play  ~  Kobo
Audiobook (US)  ~  Hardcover (US)
Minotaur Books (SMP)

 

 

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Avid Reader – ☆☆☆☆
M/F Mystery

Mason Reid, a.k.a. Mace, trains dogs for police purposes outside of Chicago. He is normally called in when someone needs a body found, as that's what his dogs are known for. When Kenneth J. Druckman is assaulted and his wife, former supermodel Calley Kurtz, and his daughter, Eleanor, are abducted, Mace and his trusty dog Vira are on the case.

You weave through the twisted woods of the Druckman estate, as well as the twisted mind of a cold blooded killer.

Twists and turns lead you through the police procedure of searching for Druckman's wife and daughter.

This book has you jump between characters – their thoughts, actions, and motivations. It's a fun way to read the mystery as you are just given snippets here and there.

Burton does a great job at winding through the minds of the characters and piecing together the mystery. While the mystery is not complex to figure out, Burton does a great job at keeping the reader wanting to turn the page and find the motivation behind everyone's actions.

 

 

JEFFREY B. BURTON is the author of The Chessman and The Eulogist. He is an active member of Mystery Writers of America, International Thriller Writers and the Horror Writers Association and lives in St. Paul, Minnesota with his family.

Connect with Jeffrey B. Burton

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ARC provided by

Reviewers on the Wicked Reads Review Team were provided a free copy of The Lost (Mace Reid K-9 Mystery #3) by Jeffrey B. Burton to read and review.

Dead Against Her by Melinda Leigh

Sheriff Bree Taggert’s downfall is part of a killer’s cunning design in #1 Amazon Charts and Wall Street Journal bestselling author Melinda Leigh’s novel of murder, lies, and revenge.

Called to an isolated farm to check on an elderly widow, Sheriff Bree Taggert finds a brutal double homicide. One of the victims is Eugene Oscar, the bitter and corrupt former deputy she recently forced out of the department.

Working with criminal investigator Matt Flynn, Bree discovers that she isn’t the only one who had a troubling history with Eugene. But someone doesn’t want Bree digging up the past. She becomes the target of a stranger’s sick and devious campaign calculated to destroy her reputation, career, family, and new relationship with Matt. To make matters worse, she’s the prime suspect in Eugene’s murder.

When her chief deputy goes missing while investigating the case, Bree refuses to back down. She won’t let him become the next victim. His life and her future depend on finding a killer nursing a vengeful rage.

Don’t miss our reviews of the rest of the Bree Taggert series:
For book one, Cross Her Heart, click HERE.
For book two, See Her Die, click HERE.
For book three, Drown Her Sorrows, click HERE.
For book four, Right Behind Her, click HERE.

 

 

Book 5
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Audiobook (US)  ~  Hardcover (US)  ~  Paperback (US)
~ Also Available to Read & Listen with KindleUnlimited ~

 

 

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Avid Reader – ☆☆☆☆
M/F Mystery

Bree and Matt are at it again. This time, Bree is in the sights of someone who has a grudge. With her position being elected, Bree knows that things are precarious. However, since she was appointed to the position and ruffled quite a few feathers, she knew that this was a possibility.

As the threats come closer to home and closer to the people who Bree has grown to love and protect, she and Matt have to figure out who’s behind them in order to get the threat to be neutral.

You won’t sit down in this story. It’s fast paced, the characters are well thought out, and it is truly entertaining. I really enjoyed this installation into the series.

While you don’t have to read the previous books in the series, it does help somewhat with the personal relationships that you see in the book.


Mary Jo – ☆☆☆☆
I love a good mystery and Melinda Leigh does not disappoint. From the very beginning, there are few clues to who murdered her former deputy or his mother. Yet small town gossip goes a long way into convincing people that maybe Bree wanted Eugene out of the way to conceal her own wrongdoings.

The story itself is written in way that there are plenty of people who could be a suspect but you really can't put your finger on any one that had any reason more than the others. Bree is a strong female who doesn't have to downplay any of her strengths to assuage Matt's sense of masculinity and you have the feeling that Matt would be disappointed if she tried to do so. They truly love and respect each other for who they are.

Melinda Leigh's way of storytelling has a way of drawing me in and the next thing I know, hours have passed and it's 3 a.m. and I don't want to put the book down. I'm definitely reading the next book in the series.


Veronica – ☆☆☆☆
Dead Against Her starts with a murder and Bree Taggert finding the victims, one of who is a former corrupt deputy under her command. We go straight into the investigation, which got me hooked on the story from the start.

The tension in this story builds up as the investigation progresses and never lets up. It isn't long before Bree is dealing with pressure from the media, from a local politician, all the while receiving violent threats. I was so angry and frustrated on Bree’s behalf at the media and the lies being spread. But Bree is such an impressive woman, and it is inspiring to see her managing everything and keeping her cool when people around her are trying to bring her down.

The tension really goes up to a whole other level when one of Bree’s current deputies goes missing. The final push and chase for the killer and the search for the missing deputy is a frantic mix of action and suspense worthy of a Hollywood blockbuster. It was just thrilling to read.

Dead Against Her is such a good read and I’d definitely recommend it and the whole Bree Taggert series if you are a lover of romantic suspense novels.

 

 

MELINDA LEIGH abandoned her career in banking to raise her kids and never looked back. She started writing as a hobby and became addicted to creating characters and stories. Since then, she has won numerous writing awards for her paranormal romance and romantic-suspense fiction. Her debut novel, She Can Run, was a number one bestseller in Kindle Romantic Suspense, a 2011 Best Book Finalist (The Romance Reviews), and a nominee for the 2012 International Thriller Award for Best First Book. She is the author of the Midnight Novels, including Midnight Exposure (a finalist for the Daphne du Maurier Award for Excellence in Mystery/Suspense) and Midnight Sacrifice.

Connect with Melinda Leigh

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ARC provided by

Reviewers on the Wicked Reads Review Team were provided a free copy of Dead Against Her (Bree Taggert #5) by Melinda Leigh to read and review.

Take My Husband by Ellen Meister

Only one thing stands in the way of Laurel Applebaum's happiness... Doug Applebaum.

In this darkly comic novel about a wife whose rope is so frayed it's about to snap, Laurel gets a call that her husband has been in an accident. She imagines the worst. But as she is on the way to the ER, another emotion seizes her. Relief. Doug's death could solve all her problems. No more catering to his incessant demands. Then there's the insurance money. Laurel's dreams seem so close. There's just one problem: Doug is very much alive. Now Laurel has to decide if she is going to do something about it.

Subversive, irreverent and surprisingly poignant, Take My Husband probes the deep corners of a marriage and emerges to find the light. For anyone who's spent a little too much time with a significant other and thought, One of us has got to go.

 

 

Buy Links

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Apple Books  ~  B&N  ~  Google Play  ~  Kobo
Audiobook (US)  ~  Paperback (US)
MIRA (HQN)

 

 

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Ruthie – ☆☆☆☆
3.5 stars rounded up – because I completely understood why 😀

This was really a very dark story. I have a feeling many people may be reluctant to admit they have had some of her thoughts, because... well, one just couldn't admit to thinking how much easier it’s to live without one's rather boring spouse. Let alone how the life insurance may help...

It would seem to me that the author had a lot of fun creating a really mad collection of characters, which offset some of the darkness of the subject. Fundamentally, we all know it is wrong to feel this way and that there will be people who have experienced loss and be devastated. But sometimes reading about those dark thoughts can release the guilt through humour, and certainly I could appreciate the mixture of shock and amusement.

You need to be in the right mood and place to enjoy this book, but if you are, then it will hook you in and you will just have to know how it all works out!


Angie – ☆☆☆
I am on the fence about this book. I was in a similar situation and recently got divorced. I understand some of the feelings in this book. I get it. I lived it. But then I also wanted to reach through my e-reader and say, “Snap out of and grow a pair!” This definitely isn't your average book, so keep that in mind when reading. I think I'll reread this again once I've just got over my own issues.


Shelby – ☆☆
Take My Husband is a "dark" comedy about a middle-aged married couple. I had to remind myself of this, constantly, while reading it. As I've gained maturity (aka gotten older), I've realized my idea of comedy differs greatly from the majority and this book is a great example.

I'm just going to come out and say I absolutely hated the main character, Laurel. I can absolutely empathize with her in a few aspects, but overall, I cannot like her. She's a glorified doormat with absolutely NO backbone. She's unhappy in her marriage, she resents her husband, but refuses to communicate or leave. Oh no, instead, she fantasizes about her husband dying, because well, the backbone thing I mentioned.

In an effort to not spoil the story, I will say that her husband isn't much better (he is very two-dimensional).

I didn't enjoy this, I disliked the characters and have no respect for them. I found nothing humorous but did have to stick it out to see what happened, only for that to seem rushed.
This book just wasn't for me.

 

 

Author of The Rooftop Party, Love Sold Separately, Dorothy Parker Drank Here, Farewell Dorothy Parker, and other novels, ELLEN MEISTER is also an editor, book coach, and contributor to Long Island Woman. She has been published in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and elsewhere, and has appeared on NPR. Ellen teaches creative writing at LIU Hutton House Lectures.

Connect with Ellen Meister

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ARC provided by

Reviewers on the Wicked Reads Review Team were provided a free copy of Take My Husband by Ellen Meister to read and review.

Perfect Gifts by RJ Scott & V.L. Locey Release Blitz

Family comes first in all things. Whatever the cost.

Ten had always heard the saying ‘Out of the mouth of babes,’ but he’d not expected it to hit home as it had. After a comment from their daughter, Ten and Jared find themselves pondering an addition to the family. Moving into the adoption process is nerve-wracking and riddled with anxiety—kind of like how the Railers have been playing of late. Bringing two young men into their homes and hearts isn’t going to be a smooth ride. But with patience, humor, and love, the bumpy road might just be a little easier to travel.

Expanding their small family was always in the cards, but no one could have foreseen the process clashing with the worst ever start to a Railers season. A string of losses, a vital player missing from the defense, a captain in the emergency room, and winning a single game seems impossible, let alone getting the team to the playoffs. Faced with hard decisions, Jared refuses to take his work home, but it’s difficult when your husband is at the cutting edge of the losing streak. His focus fractures when one of the siblings they are matched with is frustrated, angry, and has a healthy dose of mistrust.

Jared and Ten’s parenting skills are tested, but they will do anything to make a place in their home the perfect gift for two children lost in the system.

Authors’ Note: This is not a standalone story and can only really be enjoyed as part of the series.

Don’t miss our reviews of the rest of the Harrisburg Railers series!
For book one, Changing Lanes, click HERE.
For book two, First Season, click HERE.
For book three, Deep Edge, click HERE.
For book four, Poke Check, click HERE.
For book five, Last Defense, click HERE.
For book six, Goal Line, click HERE.
For book seven, Neutral Zone, click HERE.
For book eight, Hat Trick, click HERE.
For book nine, Save the Date, click HERE.
For book ten, Baby Makes Three, click HERE..
For book eleven, Rivals, click HERE.

 

 

Book 12
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Apple Books  ~  B&N  ~  Kobo  ~  Smashwords
Paperback (US)
~  Will be available with KindleUnlimited on November 25^th  ~

 

 

“So, where do we think she got on the brother kick?” Jared asked as he stirred some of the honey that Adler’d brought us into his mug. Ad had taken up beekeeping. Why? Not a clue, but we all suspected that it was so he could brag about having a big stinger in the locker room. They’d found out Layton was allergic, so he watched the bees from a distance.

“Probably at the indoor playground over in Camp Hill earlier,” I said while dunking a Stella D’oro cookie into my tea. I’d have a few. Cookies were not recommended by the Railers nutritionist as healthy afternoon snacks. “She was playing with Michelle Khan.”

“Oh, yes, Mrs. Khan just had a baby,” Jared replied, then added one more dollop of honey to his mug. “A little boy.”

“Yep. She was cooing and cuddling the baby until we left. She even skipped the jungle gym and slide to tickle tiny Joey’s chin.”

Jared’s eyes flared. Lottie never passed the jungle gym and slide. Ever. I’d had to climb in a time or two to extract her when it was time to go. Jared—the old D-man that he was—was too burly to fit. The parents who had gotten to witness a hockey player trying to wedge his shoulders into a skinny tube with monkeys painted on the sides had found it pretty amusing. As had the local press the following day. Nothing says professionalism after just signing a new multi-million dollar contract like being photographed wriggling through the monkey tumble tube.

“That explains it,” he commented as he began thumbing languidly through his daily read of The Patriot News online. The man looked sexy AF in those reading glasses.

“Yeah, I guess.” I nibbled on my cookie, my phone showing a half-read article in The Athletic waiting for me to return to it. “You know we could consider it.” That brought his gaze up from the local news. He studied me over the top of his DILF glasses. “What? It’s not as if we haven’t discussed having another baby. It was kind of always our plan.”

“Well… yes, I know we’ve discussed it.” He removed his glasses, folded them, and laid them by the cookie box. He assessed me intently. “Do you think it’s something we should look at more closely?”

“Maybe?” I reached for another cookie, my sight darting from the cookie to Jared to the window where the glass was coated with a touch of frost around the edges. Fall was here, and it was glorious. We had pumpkins to carve, cider to drink, and Halloween costumes to decide on before the end of the month rolled around. “I mean she is here alone all the time.”

“She’s not alone. She has us, a nanny, and now, a dog.”

“Well yeah, I don’t mean like we Kevin McAllister her or anything, it’s just…” I plucked the cookie from its wrap, then dunked it quickly into my tea, hurrying to get the shortbread treat to my mouth. I chewed, then swallowed. Jared sat across from me waiting patiently for me to make my point. “Okay, so, and never tell them—especially Brady—but having siblings to grow up with was pretty nice. Most of the time.”

 

 

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Veronica – ☆☆☆☆
A big thank you to the authors for taking the time to write more of Jared and Ten's story. It was wonderful to be back with not just this couple that I love but the other members of the Railers too.

Jared and Ten decide to add two children to their family when their 3-year-old daughter asks for a brother. The men decide that they'd like to foster and adopt an older child and are matched with two brothers, Milo and Soren.

Perfect Gifts takes us on through Halloween (I loved Ten's costume), Thanksgiving, and Christmas with their new sons, dealing with difficult situations at home while at work the Railers are not having a great season. This story has some struggles and some sad moments, and it has some heartwarming, funny, and even sexy moments. And I have to mention that hilarious conversation that Adler, Ten, and Stan have on the ice about Valentine's Day gifts. It had me laughing out loud. I wonder how many of us that read this story are going to take Adler's present advice. I know I'm considering it.

Perfect Gifts was a joy to read, and I hope the authors will consider writing more novellas with Jared and Ten in the future.


Ruthie – ☆☆☆☆☆
This is the perfect gift to readers of this series – of that I have no doubt! Scott and Locey have written a really heartwarming, engaging, and dreamy Christmas treat.

I loved seeing the joy of Jared and Ten as husbands and fathers – and now they are looking to adopt a brother to add to their family... and once again Ten has the worry of his brain injury affecting their chances. As we follow their journey to become a bigger family and take the advice of their friends, it is impossible not to want everything to work out.

Great way to catch up with everyone we care about and possibly meet the next generation of Railers!

 

 

USA Today bestselling author RJ SCOTT has written over one hundred and fifty romance books. Emotional stories of complicated characters, cowboys, single dads, hockey players, millionaires, princes, bodyguards, Navy SEALs, soldiers, doctors, paramedics, firefighters, cops, and the men who get mixed up in their lives, always with a happy ever after.

She lives just outside London and spends every waking minute she isn’t with family either reading or writing.

The last time she had a week’s break from writing, she didn’t like it one little bit, and she has yet to meet a box of chocolates she couldn’t defeat.

Connect with RJ Scott

Facebook  ~  Twitter  ~  Instagram  ~  TikTok  ~  Website  ~  Goodreads
Facebook Group: RJ Scott – Special Secret Group
Facebook Group: MM Hockey Romance

 

V.L. LOCEY loves worn jeans, yoga, belly laughs, walking, reading and writing lusty tales, Greek mythology, the New York Rangers, comic books, and coffee. (Not necessarily in that order.)

She shares her life with her husband, her daughter, one dog, two cats, a flock of assorted fowl, and two Jersey steers.

When not writing spicy romances, she enjoys spending her day with her menagerie in the rolling hills of Pennsylvania with a cup of fresh java inhand.

Connect with V.L. Locey

Facebook  ~  Twitter  ~  Instagram  ~  Website  ~  Goodreads
Facebook Group: Vicki’s Vixens
Facebook Group: MM Hockey Romance

 

 

Hosted by

Reviewers on the Wicked Reads Review Team were provided a free copy of Perfect Gifts (Harrisburg Railers #12) by RJ Scott & V.L. Locey to read and review.

The Serpent in Heaven by Charlaine Harris

#1 New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Charlaine Harris returns to her alternate history of the United States where magic is an acknowledged but despised power in this fourth installment of the Gunnie Rose series.

Felicia, Lizbeth Rose’s half-sister and a student at the Grigori Rasputin school in San Diego—capital of the Holy Russian Empire—is caught between her own secrets and powerful family struggles. As a granddaughter of Rasputin, she provides an essential service to the hemophiliac Tsar Alexei, providing him the blood transfusions that keep him alive. Felicia is treated like a nonentity at the bedside of the tsar, and at the school she's seen as a charity case with no magical ability. But when Felicia is snatched outside the school, the facts of her heritage begin to surface. Felicia turns out to be far more than the Russian-Mexican Lizbeth rescued. As Felicia’s history unravels and her true abilities become known, she becomes under attack from all directions. Only her courage will keep her alive.

Don’t miss our reviews of other books in the Gunnie Rose series!
For book two, A Longer Fall, click HERE.
For book three, The Russian Cage, click HERE.

 

 

Book 4
Buy Links

Amazon US  ~  Amazon UK  ~  Amazon Au  ~  Amazon Ca
Apple Books  ~  B&N  ~  Google Play  ~  Kobo
Audiobook (US)  ~  Hardcover (US)
Saga Press (Simon & Schuster)

 

 

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Erica – ☆☆☆☆☆
The Serpent in Heaven is the fourth installment in the Gunnie Rose series. The first three narrated by Lizbeth. The novel (and I assume going forth) is narrated by our gunnie's little sister, Felicia. This cannot be read as a standalone without massive confusion, start with An Easy Death.

Gunnie Rose is such a unique series, across the board. From the dystopian setting, in an alternate early twentieth century, the inventive world building, and intriguing magical and political system. I've never read anything like this before. The Gunnie Rose series is truly one of a kind.

Felicia is in a precarious situation. She is seen as little else than a blood donor for the tsar, as well as a scholarship student at the school, with little to no magic. Since she has been keeping her magic under wraps, I understood the bias when it came to students at a magical school not accepting her. What I don't understand is the bias when it comes to being the blood donor. In order to be of aid to the tsar, that means Felicia is a direct descendant of the tsar himself (his niece and lifeline). Felicia is of royal blood, keeping their precious tsar alive, and they can't even give her an allowance. I felt this was a bizarre mindset. She ought to be one of the highest paid members in the kingdom, not the lowliest.

From the streets of Mexico, Felicia is still shouldering the burdens of her past. Her drunk father and cruel uncle using her for their own gains, while suppressing her natural age and shape for her supposed protection.

Now a year later, the effects of her father's spell are finally dissipating, Felicia growing into the shape and size of a young woman of fifteen. Not that Felicia is sure of her age. Felicia's excitement was easily relatable, as was her worry. Now that she is considered a fully grown woman, everyone is plotting the best way to marry her off for their own gains, no differently than her father treated her.

The girl is lonely, no friends and only a sister far away, which makes her vulnerable. She would do anything to have a support system and family. This is where I'm confused. In order to be a blood donor, she must be a blood relative to the tsar. Why doesn't his family see her as his family? They're her uncle and aunt, and their children are her cousins. The other donors are her father's siblings and her cousins. Yet the entire system is in place to see her only as a cow – cows that keep being slaughtered to eradicate the tsar's blood source.

Action-packed from the first page, Felicia is being hit from all sides. As an orphan who has been thrust into her father's family as a donor, she never gave thought to her mother's family, who shows up out of nowhere to attempt to kidnap and kill those all around her. At the same time, someone is still offing her donor relatives. Added in with the constant need to marry her off.

Eli (Lizbeth's husband, Felicia's brother-in-law), his family takes to Felicia, his sisters and brother; Eli's brother, Paul, he takes to Felicia too much as she grows into her womanliness. This draws a wedge between Felicia and the matriarch of the family, which makes Felicia rightfully insulted. I appreciated Felicia's setting of boundaries and not just accepting those unkind words from someone she felt loved her.

There is also hesitancy in Felicia when it comes to Paul, which I appreciated. Even though she is far beyond her years in life experience, after struggling to survive day to day, she has not yet grown into her body. While kind and supportive, Felicia senses Paul is a Nice Guy. Hopefully he grows out of those toxic tendencies.

Just as with Lizbeth, Felicia is a strong character, and I adored looking at the world through her lens. She is a fighter and a survivor, but also kind, selfless, compassionate, protective, and empathetic. She does the right thing, especially when it's hard. She stands up for herself and others. She doesn't resist authority, but she does speak up when she recognizes they're on the wrong path. A leader who knows when to follow someone worthy. A good role model.

Highly recommended to Charlaine Harris fans. I look forward to watching Felicia grow into womanhood and into her magical power. I cannot wait to see what is in store for her in the next installment and the next.

 

 

CHARLAINE HARRIS is a New York Times bestselling author who has been writing for over thirty years. She was born and raised in the Mississippi River Delta area. She has written four series, and two stand-alone novels, in addition to numerous short stories, novellas, and graphic novels (cowritten with Christopher Golden). Her Sookie Stackhouse books have appeared in twenty-five different languages and on many bestseller lists. They’re also the basis of the HBO series True Blood. Harris now lives in Texas, and when she is not writing her own books, she reads omnivorously. Her house is full of rescue dogs.

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ARC provided by

Reviewers on the Wicked Reads Review Team were provided a free copy of The Serpent in Heaven (Gunnie Rose #4) by Charlaine Harris to read and review.