February Reads #Bookshelf #SomethingToTalkAbout

I'm breaking up my editing time with something fun. I came across some excellent stories in February and I wanted to share.

Even though I was reading predominately shifters and fantasy, I've been collecting Sci-Fi stories to gorge on in March and possibly April. Many of the science fictions are human only, which is great, but I'd like to mix it up with some alien/anthropomorphic characters, a la Barbarian Ice Planet or Details of the Hunt. I really, really like the sci-fi adventures or the ones where the plot has equal weight to the romance. And as you know by now, I read it all: MM, FF, Poly in all variations, Trans, Asexual. I don't care. Give it to me. If you have any recommendations, please feel to leave them in the comments. *makes grabby hands*

On to what I liked in February. These stuck with me. The characters, the plots, and I really wanted more and I really, really wished they were in audiobook form.

I have had this in my library for a long while. One would've thought I'd have read it when I picked it up. I remember why I didn't and it was because I'd picked up several books about dragons around the same time. I read the others first and my dissatisfaction had me moving away from the dragons to read something else. And I admit that those emotions became tied up with this book cover even though I didn't take a peek at the first chapter. A couple of months ago, a friend of my sent this as a recommendation and I gave it a go.

Why didn't I make myself take another look at Reawakening again before now? It was fantastic. The world, the characters, and the writing were all superb. I immediately picked up the second book in the series. You can tell that so much thought and planning went into this series with dragons and gods against the powerful nemesis, the Shadow. The world is written so exquisitely, that the scenes were colorfully brilliant. I could feel the hot wind, the gritty sand, the coolness coming down from the mountains. I can't wait for the next book. More please!

Reawakening and Resistance

You ever meet a character that you want to take home and feed and just take care of? Rath is that person. He's genuinely a good person and his father takes advantage of that. He enters the tournament to pay off a dept, but he can't quit, he has to be eliminated in order to keep the money he won in the first part. Unintentionally, he keeps winning and he's conflicted about that. I rooted for him and held my breath and wanted to hug him so hard. I loved it all the way to the end. 

Tournament of Losers

A Bear Walks into a Bar is Erotica, which means that the sex drives the plot. There is lots and loves of sex, but there is a purpose to it. And I really liked the story. I couldn't read it all in one sitting, but it stayed with me, and I kept coming back for more. I'm always amazed at good erotica because there is so much sex you expect the scenes to just be duplicates of each other. Here, no. Through it all, you could see what Sawyer was pushing to accomplish. There is a purpose to every encounter, and I hope Eden writes a sequel because I want to see what happens next.

A Bear Walks Into A Bar

I finished this one last night. I need to see if there are any more stories by Oakes because this was an excellent take on Beauty and the Beast. This is an fantasy that has an alternate history for humans with dystopia that isn't as grim as others. The miasma that separates the towns is deadly and people cannot pass through without the Keeper's help. They are the ones who protect the towns. Every ten years, the immortal Keeper asks for a companion.

Everyone sees Ash as fragile, but really, he's not. He's so earnest and hopeful. He tries so hard. He'd been an orphan for so long you'd think he'd already be jaded and wary of others, but he wasn't which, for me, endeared him to me all the more. 

Ravenhearth

I've been holding on to this for a while. I loved the first book in the series, and I saved this for a time when nothing was working for me. The Bad Oak Boy series is about the members of a rock band who are latent shifters. When they meet their mate, their wolf awakens, and then they shift. I really like the overall world these stories are set in, where humans knows there are shifters, but it's not something anyone talks about. These are also mpregs and I liked the unique way the alpha give birth. Alpha Shaman is about the band member, Josh Oakley, and the Alpha Shaman, Gerwulf. It's a great addition to the series and reveals more about the troubles the shifters have been having.

When I finished, the third book had just released, and I jumped into Wulfgang. Silas is trying to take a 'vacation' and hide for the summer as a college professor. I liked that we get to see a different pack. I'd been wondering what would happen with so many alphas coming out of the Oakley clan, you know? We also get the teaser for Silas's brother changing without meeting his mate to be a lone wolf. So there is one more to the series and I can't wait.

Alpha Shaman and Wulfgang

Talking about shifters and something different. Dangerous Territory is a historical western in an alternate history where people know of shifters in the old west. This is a quick read with different type of shifter. I loved the mix and was rooting for Carter. I really, really wanted to put his sister over my knee and that so called brother-in-law I would've shoved into the river. Just sayin'. What a snake. I would totally read a sequel to this if Cari ever thought to pen one.

Dangerous Territory

I'm putting the second book of this series first because I read these out of order. The first one is a menage, and you know I love my poly, but the blurb for this one had me reading even though I didn't have the first book in the series. For those who don't read poly, you can skip the first book and start here because everything was explained well enough that I wasn't lost or confused. Very well done. 

I liked it so much that I immediately searched out and bought the first book. Even though I knew of some of what happened, I needed to read it. I still loved it even though I knew some of the spoilers from the first. When I finished, went begging for more--literally. Misha was nice enough to let me know that book 3 will be out in April. Yes, please!

Dragon Born and Dragon Claimed

Thank you for stopping by and reading!! Don't forget to leave a recommendation!