Reviews and Comments

3⭐️

This was a good sequel. Not really necessary but a good addition nonetheless. I think if I hadn't read and fell in love with Jackson and Ellery in Fish Out of Water before I read this series I might have liked this series more. But Amy Lane did so much better with the portrayal of how it is when one half of the couple is in a dangerous job and puts themselves in the line of fire a lot of the time. I am tempted to revisit that series again even though I just finished it last month. This book has a lot of the same vibes as the Fish series but not as fleshed out. And it felt like there were so many things crammed into one book. And I felt that Larx and Aaron didn't really work out all of the kinks of their relationship and that Larx was stuffing all of his feelings down deep instead of facing them. This is the trouble with short series sometimes. You do not get enough time to flesh out the characters or their problems and joys. I think Amy Lane did a good job here but a much better one in the Fish series.

3.5⭐️

This was different from the other books I have read by Amy Lane,i.e., the Fish Out of Water series. This was more along the lines of how a queer couple finds love after loss (albeit an old one) and how they come out to the world amidst rampant homophobia. I liked the portrayal of Larks and wish I had teachers like him when I was younger. And it was nice to see these teachers as human. They were passionate about helping the kids but were held back by how much they could actually do to help them according to the rules.

Though the relationship developed quite quickly between Larks and Aaron I think the fact that the two of them knew each other for years through their kids and them developing a relationship during a turbulent time made it seem plausible. This book had a HEA but there is also a sequel. So on to the next book I go

4⭐️

I am loving this series. Who wouldn't love the Gay Billionaire Couple? Glen & Tyler, on the surface, are like 2 rich frat boys but as I have read through three of their adventures by now I know that is just a facade that they both use(not just Tyler) to fool people.

This particular adventure was good but not as great as the first two. I know there were more Bond/Spy elements and they were great but I felt that because Tyler had the project he was working on separately from Glen for most of a year was a disappointment for me. I know Glen was working on his doctorate and that this was how their relationship worked, with Tyler trying to show off for Glen which Glen lets Tyler do. But even knowing all of that I just wanted Glen to know everything.

While that was the only letdown, the best part about this book was how much I loved Glen and Tyler's relationship in this. They take the time to keep the romance alive even when the bullets are flying and you can tell that they both have rock solid trust in the other and love each other deeply.

I am looking forward to the treasure hunting in the next book.

5⭐️

This series kept up with its awesomeness from the last book. It just got better. I cannot believe it took us 7 books to see Ellery in action in court. Though it was only a glimpse I still appreciated the hell out of it. This book expanded on Ellery and Jackson finally finding a balance in their lives with Jackson's need to help everyone even if that means putting himself in danger and Ellery's constant worry of Jackson getting hurt or worse, dying. They have both come a long way in their relationship and that I felt was the payoff for me for sticking to this series through all of these books. That last chapter helped a lot too. This installment had me in tears at a few points what with so many people hurt and in pain both physical and emotional but there was also a hopeful note in this book that was just what I needed.

I am not sure if Amy Lane will be writing any more Fish Out Of Water books but she has ended on a pretty good note in this book. I would love another book if not more but I know you can never tell with series. So at the moment I am happy with where this book is in the Fishverse

3.75⭐️

I love this series and was happy to note that a new book in the series was released recently. That gave me the incentive to reread the books I had already read and go on to read the ones I haven't yet.

I have to say out of the books I have read so far, this rates the lowest in my mind. A great book but not up to par with the predecessors. The reason for that I think was that the balance between the case and the personal struggles of Jackson and Ellery was a bit off towards the latter. One of the reasons I love this series is that I get the action, romance and angst in all the right measurements. But in the case of this book it seemed like it was mostly angst. If this were a standalone I would probably have given it a lower rating but as I know these characters and love them and have seen their journey I think I was able to stomach the hurt that both Jackson and Ellery were going through.

My favourite in this series has always been Ellery. I think a lot of people would be stans of Jackson and I do love him but my heart in mostly with Ellery. I think I empathize with him more as he doesn't know how to charm people but makes an effort to interact with people, especially those that mean a lot to Jackson, because he loves him. And I don't know how he copes with all of the hurt that Jackson has. I also can see Jackson's struggle. For someone with all the confidence in the bedroom department he sure has issues with being able to accept the unconditional love Ellery, Kaden, Jade and Rhonda have for him. I hope he does soon.

All of the books so far have ended with Jackson in the hospital or recovering. I am hoping the next book takes a break from that. I would like our couple to have some personal time that isn't a result of an injury. I am already reading the next book while writing this review and liking it.

3.25⭐️

The author obviously has a formula with her pairings and she is sticking to it. And that is the Grumpy - Sunshine trope and I have to say I am not mad. Though there were similarities between the characters of this series and the Medium Trouble series there were enough differences in the characters and plot that it did not make it seem like I was reading the same book. I think I didn't help myself by reading these books back to back.

All in all though there is a mystery in this book I felt like more attention was given to the MC's getting closer than the nitty gritty of solving the case. I felt like it was an afterthought. There was more progress in the over a decade old case of what/who is stalking Finn than there was in the drug case that was the main case of the moment.

I am intrigued enough to see where this takes our 2 MC's

3.5⭐️

This book is not what I expected. In a good way. I was expecting a run of the mill cozy mystery with a murder/crime taking place, our protagonists finding clues, finding a red herring and then finally cottoning on to the solution towards the end of the book. While the plot more or less follows that particular blueprint there is so much more that happens on the way to the solution of the mystery.

Though this story starts off with a car bomb, that particular mystery diverts Henri's and Jamie's attention to the problem of bad/forged charms that claim to keep out sickness. This is one of the few times that there is no sympathy for the victims. And that was refreshing to see.

I have always wondered how it would be to be transported back into the past or into the world of some of my favourite fantasy books. Jamie has done exactly that in a way and Honor has tackled this in as logical a way as you can with such a premise. Some of the difficulties she faces are smoothed over by magic, but not all of them. She has problems with conveying some ideas because of the differences in their worlds. But the best is Jamie bringing in the concepts of our world in to theirs like cell phones, cleansing solutions and so much more. Not all of the things are replicated exactly but modified to work there. I am so intrigued by where these ideas can be taken in the rest of the series. And the mysteries and interactions between the characters are depicted well too.

This book wasn't just a fantasy story with some mystery thrown in but was pretty emotional at the end. There were no clear perpetrator and victim in this.

I am quite looking forward to the next book.

3.25⭐️

In a lot of ways I liked this book a lot better than I did the previous entry. We got to see more of the bond between Brand and Rune as both companion/bonded and as well as friends, more of Quinn and a resolution to Max's troubles that were revealed in the first book. The machinations that went into bringing down the Hanged man were very entertaining to read.

But what makes me rate this book low is the amount of pain in this book. I am not averse to reading sad books, or about atrocities being committed to people in books. And there are books that do it very well and with a lot of sensitivity. This book has done the same. It might be that at the moment I am not upto reading about all of the bad things done to Rune or being done to others in this series. There is a mention of abuse to minors and allusions to what was done to Rune when he was younger and having this in both the 1st and 2nd books is a lot to handle for me at the moment. And it looks like there will be more along the veins of people getting both physically and emotionally hurt and I am not in the space to be reading that at the moment.

So I think I will stop with this series here for now. Maybe I will revisit it after a few more of the books in the planned 9 part series comes out but there's no guarantee.

2⭐️

I was disappointed by the book. I expected to like it a lot better than I did. The magic system sounded great on the blurb but the execution fell sort in that it didn't make a lot of sense.

I get that Familiars are the lesser of the magical people and they need wizards to be able to expend excess magical energy. their society or the Convocation as it is called here has set up a lot of rules that inhibit a familiars freedom. It is implied that being a wizard or familiar is more of a biological thing and that was different. I get why Nic ran. I mean who would want to live as a familiar when you are treated as a non entity. But when she realizes she has a Fascination or in our terms an irrational liking to Gabriel she runs because then she would be compelled to do whatever he wants.

I feel like Nic whined a lot about how she has no rights under convocation laws but when Gabriel who was brought up outside of the convocation and wants to give her those rights she says that is not how things are done. It is like she is 2 people. She despairs of having no freedom but when he tries to challenge her views on how a familiar can be treated better she says that is not how it is done. It isn't even like she is stating that you cannot over throw a centuries old tradition over night and that you have to go about it with more care but that she outright denies it has to change at all. Nic confused me with her dual characters. With how I feel about this book I don't think I will be going on with this series, but who knows what the future will bring.