March Reads #Bookshelf #SomethingToTalkAbout

Whoot! A fun post about what I read in March! It seems that March was like a 'catch up on reading' month. I hardly read anything in January. February was all right. But March? I was a reading machine on my off time. 

I'd expected to spend my March reading the Sci-Fi romances that I'd collected in January and February. By chance, I picked up a book by Hollis Shiloh that was a part of a series and got hooked, the sci-fi were pushed aside for the time being.

I'd read one other story by Hollis, Brian's Mate, through Dreamspinner Press and had really liked it. I'd read some reviews for the first couple of books in this series and I was intrigued, so I bought Some Reservations. It's like number six in the series but most of these can be read as standalones. Obviously, I really liked this one and I went back to read the rest starting from the beginning of the Shifters and Partners series--all of them. (In order: My Partner the Wolf, My Partner and Me, Joey and the Fox, My Sahil, Partners in Deed, Some Reservations, Shelter, and Foxed.)

 I do suggest reading them in order. Especially the first four. I got lucky with Some Reservations. They all bring something different to the table when comes to the story. A couple are much shorter than the rest but I didn't mind. I loved the world and Hollis writes a really good first person, in my opinion. It was so easy to get lost in the characters and learning about the shifters and their differences that I wanted more after gorging myself on the series. So what did I do? I searched his backlist for other series.

Good God Almighty, I love it when I get into an author and they have this huge back-list that I can explore. Again, I started with the second book of the Men of the ESRB series. (Side note: I do a majority of my buying at All Romance and it was the one available. I'm guessing these where on the Kindle Unlimited or something and that was why only part of the two series were available at ARe. Anyways...) I loved Keep and so I went back and read Safe as well as pre-ordered Sure. And then I started in on the Baking Bears series. Seriously, I had a hard time to not just buy everything he had in one fatal swoop. I've been trying to not binge buy but read as a I purchase. Ha! We'll see how long that will last.

Hollis Shilloh wasn't the only reading I did. 

The audiobook Keys by Amber Kell was excellent. A steampunk mystery that had meat and kept me listening. I've read a lot of Amber Kell in the past and I think this is her best work. I was tickled to see there would be another book in this world.

Blood Slave is not a fluffy vampire story. It's gritty and the vampires are not nice, and a bit gross at times. Prince Jai has decided he is going to change the status quo--whether or not the other vampires like it. For a brief truce, Prince Jai is given the blood slave Ash. I wasn't sure what to expect going into this because I don't typically read books where slaves are the love interest. Slaves can't give consent because they are slaves, possessions that have no rights. They are what their masters want them to be and that is what you see here from the vampires. This is also the one huge thing that sets Prince Jai apart from the other vampires. Prince Jai and I were both on the same wavelength and he had the same worries I did about Ash. Great story.

Bitter Creek's Redemption is one of the first M/M romance books I bought. I was tickled when this second book was released and I bought it right away only for it to sit on my shelf. Shuffle of Angel's Feet is about Job Ramsey. I love how T.A. Chase writes the old west, how authentic it feels without getting lost in details of the period. I have lots of love for Job and how Ansel is more than what he seems. Although, I don't remember the Ramsey clan being such assholes in the first book, but it had been a while since I read Bitter Creek. I might have to a reread. :)

Journey's End has been sitting on my bookshelf for a while. Sometimes when I know the series is ending, I'll hold onto that last book forever before reading. Although, after reading this I'm wondering if there will be a spin off series with the children from these couples. (Please, please, please) There were one or two questions left unanswered so I have my hopes. 

Superhero or supervillian? How does one know the difference? Trick of the Light is a great beginning to a new series by Megan Derr. I really liked Karl. He owned a well respected insurance company that helped victims of the damaged caused by fights between the superheroes and the villains. But not everything is what it seems and Karl is pulled deeper into the intrigue when he saves the life of a villain. Can't wait for more. Well, more has arrived in Turncoat. I have it but haven't read it yet. Blame Hollis... :)

Last month I read Misha Paige's Kindled by Fate books and loved them. While waiting for the next Kindled book to release (April!!) I picked up Demon Dreams. I thoroughly enjoyed this well balanced quick read. It's only about 80 pages but the romance between the three was balanced and the plot was such that I believed Becca could fall in love with these two men by the end of the story. Great read.

In the vein of poly romances, Where Loyalties Lie really hit the spot for me. I was looking for a poly that had a plot outside of the romance and thoroughly enjoyed this story. There was still a little bit of angst but just the right amount for me. It's different in that Abaidas and Ophion have an open relationship and both had occasionally taken lovers on the side. I enjoyed the approach and the different dynamics it brought to the story. I'll be reading this again.

It seems there's a poly theme, yes? :) I loved The Captain's Men by T. J. Land. Bisexual, gay, asexual, demisexual (at least I think Echo is demi), this story had a character of these different identities with the captain at the center of it all. I enjoyed the setting with this ship hopelessly lost in space and how differently all these men saw the captain. I don't know. Regardless of the plot with them lost in space, I came away feeling very happy when I finished reading this. I really enjoyed the story, obviously, and Yay! because there is sequel coming.

Talking about asexual. LT3 Press had a sub call for Solitary Travelers which were published in March. I picked up several asexual stories from LT3. A good portion of them were set in space or with a fantasy background. So far, they all have something different to offer and I've loved each one that I've read. Stinger is one of them. Kara is on a crappy mining planet where the gender plays a big role in what types of jobs she's allowed to work in. She helps a stranger and finds herself ostracized from her community. I loved Sarit and the background he came from. I was really worried for Kara and the ending made me really happy. I hope Katya writes more in this sci-fi-verse.

In The Faerie Godmother's Apprentice Wore Green, I loved the twist on where faerie godmothers come from. I can definitely see a whole series revolving around the apprentice's adventures and would be excited to read more if the author does write other stories about the faerie godmothers. Excellent read.

Seriously loved The Galloway Road. There was one point I was flabbergasted that there were so many bandits and criminals in the region to have the road become known as Gallows-way. I completely sympathized with Renna. I don't think that I could've rode past all of the 'gallows' and not spent hours crying. The world building and characters were excellent. Loved watching Renna evolve and become more confident in herself. I wish there was more.

I love Sasha's urban fantasies. This was adorable with dashes of suspense that kept me reading from beginning to end. Poor Cy got dumped and he suspects it was because he was asexual. In his experience, all his boyfriends say sex doesn't matter but eventually they break up with Cy. In his anger and sorrow he accidentally summoned someone from across the country--from their shower--using a love spell. Pop! Naked sudsy man suddenly appeared in Cy's room and he still struggled with whether magic was real or not. It was a great adventure. 

I would recommend How Not To Summon Your True Love and all the other books I've listed in today's post. There is something here for different reading moods. 

This is a last minute add, and technically not a March read since I finished it yesterday. But I didn't want to wait until next month to talk about this gem. Granted, I bought this because of the cover. The blurb was intriguing, but it was the only book I could find by this author, so I'm guessing this is their debut novel. And I Loved It. If you like shifters and you're looking for something fresh, this is it. This world is after Ragnarok. Some areas are close to primitive and yet there are cities, shuttles, cellphones in other areas. At the time of a were's first shift, their place in society set. (Not that Daniel was very accepting.) There's mythology, walking deities, and political intrigue. I about strangled my ereader while yelling at Devlin to, "Don't believe them!!" or "Are you stupid, the answer's right... holy cow, what is the answer?" It was awesome and I had a great time, and since this just released, I have no idea when the next one is coming out. Alpha Academy ends with a HFN ending, and I cannot wait for the next one. Highly recommended!

Thank you for stopping by and reading!!