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The day Celia came into her magical powers she cursed her oldest brother to live without love. Her father now ignores her and her middle brother causing the tow siblings to forge a relationship that was previously prevented to happen due to middle brother’s mother being of low status.  When the king decides that Celia must go to court to marry the prince she finds out that not is all as it seems with the reasons of the marriage and now she is nothing more that someone to be ignored by her new husband as she finds out the true meaning behind the war that has gone on between her people and the elves.  A good novella that reminds the reader of the power of words.

Digital review copy provided by the publisher through Edelweiss

What a great ending to this series.   The book starts with Elena being a thousand years old and thinking about all the changes to her life and to everyone around her. Everyone that has shown up during the series gets mentioned. Some angels go to Sleep and a one awakens.  The book is still too far out from publication to really get into the details that might spoil any surprises for fans and I won’t be the one to do it.  But every chapter was great to read and loose ends were tied off nicely.  There is always room for short stories set in this universe but if there wasn’t any more the fans really get all their questions answered.

Digital review copy provided by the publisher through Edelweiss

Cala’s family is prepping for Día de Muertos celebration but she is missing her recently departed grandfather to much to enjoy or help with the preparations.  As she goes to the cemetery with her family ghosts approach her and help her with realizing that this is the way to celebrate her grandfather and remember him with her family.  The art is amazing in the book and really helps with the storytelling.

Amara has been avoiding her family because she isn’t interested in taking up the family business of being Death.  Granted she always knows when someone is going to die and it has made it difficult for her to have friends and know when and how they will die. When she gets a call saying that her father is ill she goes home thinking that it is a ruse but her dad is really sick and she needs to take up the slack of the region he is responsible for.

Amara’s friend Gray comes home with her since he knows all her secrets and helps with the situation. The story is good and the ending complete you know there is more room in this setting for more books but the reader isn’t left hanging.

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This is a retelling of the tale of the seven boys turned into geese and saved by their sister who has to make them shirts while never speaking until the task is complete.  The setting is the usual Regency England with the Elemental Masters but it is set in the countryside and only at the end do we even see the White Lodge get involved.  The father is a minor lord who managed to get a swanmaid to marry him and then he hid her cloak of feathers so she couldn’t leave. When she gets it back she leaves and never returns abandoning her 8 children.  The four sets of twins, 7 brothers and one sister are mostly ignored by their father and are surprised when years later he shows up with a new bride. The story follows the tale’s framework and the usual ending happens. This story does show what happens with courtesans and how some made a living. Granted they didn’t use dark magic like the one in the story did. But the story also shows how small acts of kindness can pay back to the person when they need it the most. 

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This is set a few years after Legends and Lattes. Fern the bookstore rattkin friend of Viv’s from her early days as a merc has sold her store and moved next door to Viv to open a bookstore next to the coffee shop.  But soon after she opens the store with doubts in her head and a belly full of alcohol she wakes up the next day in a wagon far from town. Fern is in the company of a legendary Elf warrior and her bounty moving far away from where Fern should be.  So the only way back seems to be the way forward and Fern has adventures and constantly writes letters back to Viv.   

For extra enjoyment of this story find and read Goblins & Greatcoats, a short story set in the same universe. You don’t have to but you will enjoy it as well since that character is found in the pages of this book.

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Spire Albion requires warriorborn Benedict to take 3 criminal warriorborn to a colony that has gone silent to recover a bag of documents.  The colony is abandoned except for a small group of cats that can communicate with the warriorborn. As they figure out what attacked the colony there is a ship from a rival spire that will do everything they can to stop them from getting word back to their spire.  A good story an you honestly don’t’ need to be familiar with the first book to enjoy this one.

This is a new story universe but does have some similar themes as The Others.  Humans coexist with The Arcana.  Beth is a new detective in the town of Penwych and due to a coin toss she didn’t understand she is taking her first case to get more details about a gun used in a weird domestic violence shooting.  Beth discovers that bargains made on the Isle of Wyrd can be more than they seem if you are not precise enough in your ask.  Not all the Arcana look human or act like humans. Beth ends up working several cases that have parts of them going to or coming from the Isle. Most visitors to the Isle come for sightseeing and fortunetelling but there are other powers on the island and never go thought an arch unless you have no choice. 

Digital review copy provided by the publisher through Edelweiss

Set in our world with the only difference being small rips in our reality opening up to another world filled with dangerous creatures that spill out and attack. Now several years later and we have groups that go in and clear out the dangers, find valuable resources, and try to get back in one piece before it closes.  Magic is now in the world and people with powers are the ones that go in. Some can fight with powers, Some heal almost any wound and a rare few can identify just where the most valuable things can be found.  Adaline can find things in the gates and she just wants to go in do her job and go home to her kids, but when a group of aliens chases another alien attack their group and she is left behind and to the outside world assumed dead.  Now another group is going though the gate and Ada has to get back to the opening if she has any chance of being rescued.  This was a good story and I can’t wait to see what happens next for Ada.

When some pranksters in the pack decide that Asil needs to go on some blind dates so he isn’t alone at Christmas he agrees to it since the people he as been set up with don’t realize that they haven’t been talking to him and he wants to find out just who his Concerned Friends are.  Three of these dates were published in prior anthologies and rest is new for this book.  By the end of the book, you know the identity of Asil’s friend and there are some happy endings tucked in there as well.  A good enjoyable read. 

Digital review copy provided by the publisher through Edelweiss