So what have you been reading?

When the gate finally opens between the New Sonora colony and Earth things are looking good for New Sonora. Oliver and his sister Lulu are working the farm together after their grandfather died with the help of Roge,r an AI bot used to control the drones that work the fields. But when large mechs land on planet and start attacking the colonists they quickly find out that they are being targeted for extermination by Earth.  The battle lasts five days and with some backroom deals with the company controlling the game as the battle is seen from Earth, Oliver alongside his friends and neighbors have to work with the company to make the game interesting in the hopes of surviving the game.  The players think they are helping to destroy the rebels but there are no rebels and a lot of disinformation is going on.

Digital review copy provided by the publisher through Edelweiss

Tess Covington shows up to an inn in a remote part of Colorado to do a job that the owner’s aunt had scheduled. Tess has just found out she is a late blooming omega, the first shifter in her family for generations so she doesn’t know what to expect.  Hunter is an alpha werewolf and is mad at his aunt for having Tess’ company come and work on the inn but relents to have the work done. Hunter has to end up helping Tess with new heat cycles since she can’t control them and she doesn’t know what to do. 

This is set after The Fake Mate but this story can be read without having to know what happens in that book.  The story was cute and there is a lot of family interactions with Tess’ family with her brothers and her worry about her dad.

Digital review copy provided by the publisher through Edelweiss

The second book in the series has Queen Lorelai the half elven queen of Baravia and one of the Queens of Villainy kidnap her nemesis the General Gerard de Moireul that she has been taunting for the last seven years and now she has kidnapped him to open his eyes to get his to see what is wrong with the Emperor he serves.  She takes him to the Fae realm and they enter a contest and have to work together.  As they are winning the various challenges each realizes that they have feelings for one another. This is a enemies to lovers storyline and by the end of the book the romance for book 3 is set up to happen. 

Digital review copy provided by the publisher through NetGalley

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

Slowly Garrick starts showing Riela how to use her magic as he finds out why it seems she is blocked from most of it.  Feylan also wants to know about this new mage and take her for her magic. As the story unfolds Garrick and Riela develop feelings for one another even if they aren’t sure about one another.  As the story unfolds Riela finds out more about her mother who died during her birth.  This adds complications to Riela and Garrick’s relationship and throws a wrench into Garrick’s plans to get even with Feylan.

Digital review copy provided by the publisher through NetGalley

Murderbot is on a mission to save some people and then it gets complicated.  Murderbot is running some new code that Art helped write to monitor their organic parts for emotional regulation. And when they find who they are looking to rescue a new complication arises and they have to rescue more people. Lots of internal dialogue as usual and seeing Three’s personality develop was great as well.

Digital review copy provided by the publisher through Edelweiss

After the events of the previous book Mickey is now doing civil work and is representing a grieving mother, whose teen daughter was killed by a former boyfriend that the case says did this at the motivation of his AI girlfriend.  The story also crosses paths with Jack McEvoy who approaches Mickey because he wants to write a book about the case and the risks of AI. Mickey uses all his tricks from working criminal defense cases to try and bring some accountability of the AI’s company on their actions. A timely story about the dangers of AI and its effects on people.

The story goes over the year after the battle of Chicago.  Harry is in a funk from all the death and losses of both friends and allies.  This is a story about grief and depression and how Harry works through it. Of course, there is stuff he is trying to fix from the aftermath of the war and also do his duties as the Winter Knight.  This is definitely the beginning of a new story arc in the Dresden series and can be a good place for a few reader to start if they don’t mind spoilers for past events. I liked how Harry just didn’t bounce back and neither did Chicago and yet by the end of the book there is hope.

Digital review copy provided by the publisher through NetGalley

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.

Digital review copy provided by the publisher through NetGalley

Digital review copy provided by the publisher through NetGalley