Review: Silent Night - Milla Vane

Author’s Note: This is a short piece that I wrote for a blog and features Mala’s cousin, Laina, who was mentioned in “The Beast of Blackmoor.” This takes place after that story but there are no spoilers for it. 

Originally posted on That's What I'm Talking About blog this can also be read on Milla Vane's website here.

A Gathering of Dragons Series:
(Chronological reading order as per the author's website)
The Beast of Blackmoor (Novella in the Night Shift anthology)
Silent Night (Free short story on the author's website)
A Heart of Blood and Ashes
A Touch of Stone and Snow (July 2020)

Visit Milla Vane's website for more information

Review:

Silent Night is a really short story that you can read for free on Milla Vane's website here, it's told from the point of view of Laina who was briefly mentioned in The Beast of Blackmoor novella as Mala's cousin.

It's hard to say too much about this story as it's so short but we get to see that Laina is on a quest of her own for the Goddess Vela. We only see a tiny snippet of her story so I was really excited when I realised that she is the heroine of book 3, A Dance of Smoke and Steel, which publishes later this year. I can't wait to read about more of her journey!

Source: Read for free on Milla Vane's website

Other Reviews:
If you have reviewed this book on your blog please leave a link to your review in the comments & I'll add the link here.

Review: Defending Elysium - Brandon Sanderson

This story originally appeared in the October/November 2008 Asimov’s Science Fiction (in the US) and the UPC Science Fiction collection (in Europe).

"An image came to him. An image of humankind escaping into space. An image of human merchants trading and cheating, of human tyrants capturing the Varvax, Tenasi, and Hommar. Images of wars, of fighting, of a paradise destroyed."

Oddly enough, the ones who made first contact were an outdated, nearly bankrupt phone company. Second contact was made by the United Governments Military when they accidentally shot down a Tenasi ambassadorial vessel. The Phone Company negotiated Earth out of danger following the Tenasi incident. The Phone Company had brought FTL communication to humankind.

And Phone Company operative Jason Write has sworn to keep the galaxy safe from the barbaric humans who would ruin the Elysium that the galactic races currently enjoy.

Cytonic Series:
Defending Elysium (Free short story)
Skyward
Starsight

Visit the Brandon Sanderson's website for more information

Review:
This short story is set in the same universe as the Skyward series and can be read for free on Brandon Sanderson's website here or you can even listen to it via the StarShipSofa podcast (episode 339) here.

Although this story is set decades or centuries before the start of Skyward I would recommend reading it after that novel as it does contain answers to questions that are only raised in that book. I don't want to go into too much detail because it's far too easy to accidentally spoil a 40 page short story but I will say it gives more information about humanity's first interaction with alien species and it definitely explains certain things that we find out towards the end of Skyward.

Having really enjoyed this short I'm now even more excited to start the second book in the series, Starsight, I can't wait to see what happens next for Spensa and her friends.

Source: Read for free on Brandon Sanderson's website

Other reviews of this book:
If you have reviewed this book on your blog please leave a link to your review in the comments & I'll add the link here.

Review: Sleigh Bells Ring - Jodie Griffin

Vixen loves Nicholas, but as her stay in the North Pole grows short, this reindeer-shifter worries that her time spent with the Master Elf has ruined her for any other dominant out in the real world. But Nic has other plans for the little doe who caught his eye . . . and his heart.

This story was published at the author's website as a free holiday story: http://jodiegriffin.com/2015/12/sleigh-bells-ring/

Visit Jodie Griffin's website for more information.







Review:
Sleigh Bells Ring is a short but spicy free Christmas story that you can read on Jodie Griffin's website here.

Just imagine that Santa's reindeers are actually shifters and think about all the kinky things they could get up to with Master Elf Nic during all those long winter days while they wait for Christmas.

The trouble for Vixen is that she's fallen in love with the immortal elf and she knows she'll never be happy when she's finished her time working for him and has to return to her mortal life and the real world. Luckily for her Nic has no plans on letting her go.

Like I said before this was a really quick read but it was also a really fun one with lots of interesting uses for peppermint candy canes and icicles. It's not for the faint of heart - these reindeers all have their kinks and there are lots of multi-partner situations going on not to mention some BDSM elements but I enjoyed the story and thought reading it was a fun way to pass 20 minutes.

Source: Read for free on Jodie Griffin's website

Other Reviews:
If you have reviewed this book on your blog please leave a link to your review in the comments & I'll add the link here.

Review: Girls' Night Out - Kit Rocha

Caution: this story is not meant to stand alone. The Beyond Happily Ever After stories are vignettes and outtakes showing the O’Kanes in their daily lives, in between the adventures and often after their happy endings. These stories were written exclusively for readers and fans of the series, and will probably not make very much sense to anyone not familiar with the characters.

Fight Night is part of our Girls Night Out series of shorts, written for our Patreon supporters. In it, Nita, Ana, Laurel, Grace & Avery are scouting out locations for Maricela’s big pre-wedding bash…with hijinks to follow. Their first stop: Fight Night.

(Note: Patreon stories are exclusive to subscribers for the first six to nine months. After that, they’ll be available to download free on our website.)

Length: ~3000 words
Characters: Nita, Grace, Laurel, Ana, Avery, Jyoti, Nessa
Timeline: Set after Ivan

Beyond Series:
Beyond Shame
Beyond Control
Beyond Denial (A Beyond Happily Ever After free short story)
Beyond Pain
Flash (Free short story)
Beyond Temptation (Novella in the Marked Anthology or as a separate ebook)
Beyond Jealousy
Beyond Solitude (Novella in the Alpha's After Dark Anthology or as a separate ebook)
Beyond Addiction
Beyond Possession (Novella)
Beyond Innocence
Closed Doors (A Beyond Happily Ever After short story)
Blank Canvas (A Beyond Happily Ever After free short story)
Beyond Ruin
Beyond Ecstasy
Beyond Surrender
Creative Incentives (Free short story)
Beyond Doubt (An O'Kane for Life novella)
Cravings (Free short story)
Beyond Forever (An O'Kane for Life novella)
Dessert (Free short story)
Ravished (Free short story)
Efficient (Free short story)
Memorial (Free short story)
Fierce Protector (Free short story)
A Little Bit Bad (Free short story)
Diplomacy (Free short story)

Gideon's Riders Series:
(Spin off series)
Ashwin
Makhai (Free short story)
Deacon
6th Sense (Free short story)
Ivan
High Priestess (Free short story)
Girls' Night Out (Free short story)

Visit Kit Rocha's website for more information.

Review:
Girls' Night Out is a short story that was originally available through Kit Rocha's Patreon page where you can sponsor the author and read a short story every month. After six months these stories become available on Kit Rocha's website so you can now read this one for free. These stories aren't meant to be standalone, they're written to give fans of the series a chance to catch up with favourite characters and just give us little glimpses into what's happening in this world now that the main series has finished.

In Girls' Night Out we see a bunch of the women from Sector One head to the O'Kane Fight Night. They're on a mission to find a suitable venue for Maricela's bachelorette party, I'll let Nita explain exactly what they're looking for in this quote:

“So, I don’t know what a bachelorette party is supposed to be like. What are we looking for?”
“It’s not really a Sector One tradition,” Nita replied. “But it should be. I have researched this extensively and according to all vids we need intense fun, mild debauchery and maybe some light crime.”

This was a really fun snippet & I hope we get to see the girls try out a few of the other venues mentioned, as well as the actual hen night, in future stories!

Source: Read for free on Kit Rocha's website

Other Reviews:
If you have reviewed this book on your blog please leave a link to your review in the comments & I'll add the link here.

Review: High Priestess - Kit Rocha

Caution: this story is not meant to stand alone. The Beyond Happily Ever After & Patreon stories are vignettes and outtakes showing the O’Kanes & Riders in their daily lives, in between the adventures and often after their happy endings. These stories were written exclusively for readers and fans of the series, and will probably not make very much sense to anyone not familiar with the characters.

High Priestess: a 2019 patreon story. (Del POV & Mad POV) This story is a short vignette (usually) voted on by our Patreon supporters. In it, the high priestess Del reflects on the path she took to her current place of power as she tries to find the right way to immortalize Carter Maddox as a saint. And Mad grapples with his family legacy as he sees his father remembered. (Note: Patreon stories are exclusive to subscribers for the first six months. After that, they’ll be available to download free on our website.)

Length: 2750 words
Characters: Del, Mad & Jyoti
Timeline: Set after Ivan

Beyond Series:
Beyond Shame
Beyond Control
Beyond Denial (A Beyond Happily Ever After free short story)
Beyond Pain
Flash (Free short story)
Beyond Temptation (Novella in the Marked Anthology or as a separate ebook)
Beyond Jealousy
Beyond Solitude (Novella in the Alpha's After Dark Anthology or as a separate ebook)
Beyond Addiction
Beyond Possession (Novella)
Beyond Innocence
Closed Doors (A Beyond Happily Ever After short story)
Blank Canvas (A Beyond Happily Ever After free short story)
Beyond Ruin
Beyond Ecstasy
Beyond Surrender
Creative Incentives (Free short story)
Beyond Doubt (An O'Kane for Life novella)
Cravings (Free short story)
Beyond Forever (An O'Kane for Life novella)
Dessert (Free short story)
Ravished (Free short story)
Efficient (Free short story)
Memorial (Free short story)
Fierce Protector (Free short story)
A Little Bit Bad (Free short story)
Diplomacy (Free short story)

Gideon's Riders Series:
(Spin off series)
Ashwin
Makhai (Free short story)
Deacon
6th Sense (Free short story)
Ivan
High Priestess (Free short story)
Girls' Night Out (Free short story)

Visit Kit Rocha's website for more information.

Review:
High Priestess is a short story that was originally available through Kit Rocha's Patreon page where you can sponsor the author and read a short story every month. After six months these stories become available on Kit Rocha's website so you can now read this one for free. These stories aren't meant to be standalone, they're written to give fans of the series a chance to catch up with favourite characters and just give us little glimpses into what's happening in this world now that the main series has finished.

Maddox has never really been comfortable with his family history or the way his father's legacy has been forgotten but High Priestess Del is organising something very special for him. This was a sweet read but it wasn't my favourite of the short slices of life that Kit Rocha has written.

Source: Read for free on Kit Rocha's website

Other Reviews:
If you have reviewed this book on your blog please leave a link to your review in the comments & I'll add the link here.

Review: Diplomacy - Kit Rocha

Caution: this story is not meant to stand alone. The Beyond Happily Ever After stories are vignettes and outtakes showing the O’Kanes in their daily lives, in between the adventures and often after their happy endings. These stories were written exclusively for readers and fans of the series, and will probably not make very much sense to anyone not familiar with the characters.

A Patreon Reward Story. This story is a short vignette voted on by our Patreon supporters. In this story, Six & Gideon negotiate over Laurel’s future.

Characters: Six & Gideon
Timeline: Set after Ivan

Beyond Series:
Beyond Shame
Beyond Control
Beyond Denial (A Beyond Happily Ever After free short story)
Beyond Pain
Flash (Free short story)
Beyond Temptation (Novella in the Marked Anthology or as a separate ebook)
Beyond Jealousy
Beyond Solitude (Novella in the Alpha's After Dark Anthology or as a separate ebook)
Beyond Addiction
Beyond Possession (Novella)
Beyond Innocence
Closed Doors (A Beyond Happily Ever After short story)
Blank Canvas (A Beyond Happily Ever After free short story)
Beyond Ruin
Beyond Ecstasy
Beyond Surrender
Creative Incentives (Free short story)
Beyond Doubt (An O'Kane for Life novella)
Cravings (Free short story)
Beyond Forever (An O'Kane for Life novella)
Dessert (Free short story)
Ravished (Free short story)
Efficient (Free short story)
Memorial (Free short story)
Fierce Protector (Free short story)
A Little Bit Bad (Free short story)
Diplomacy (Free short story)

Gideon's Riders Series:
(Spin off series)
Ashwin
Makhai (Free short story)
Deacon
6th Sense (Free short story)
Ivan
High Priestess (Free short story)
Girls' Night Out (Free short story)

Visit Kit Rocha's website for more information.

Review:
Diplomacy is a short story that was originally available through Kit Rocha's Patreon page where you can sponsor the author and read a short story every month. After six months these stories become available on Kit Rocha's website so you can now read this one for free. These stories aren't meant to be standalone, they're written to give fans of the series a chance to catch up with favourite characters and just give us little glimpses into what's happening in this world now that the main series has finished.

This story gives us a glimpse of Six and Gideon and shows them figuring out how they're going to work together now they've both got their own sector to look after. Gideon's been in charge for a long time so we already know what to expect from him but it was fun seeing Six coming into her own as a leader. It's obvious she really cares about her people and wants the best for them.

Source: Read for free on Kit Rocha's website

Other Reviews:
If you have reviewed this book on your blog please leave a link to your review in the comments & I'll add the link here.

Review: Flash - Kit Rocha

Caution: this story is not meant to stand alone. The Beyond Happily Ever After stories are vignettes and outtakes showing the O’Kanes in their daily lives, in between the adventures and often after their happy endings. These stories were written exclusively for readers and fans of the series, and will probably not make very much sense to anyone not familiar with the characters.

A Patreon Reward Story. This story is a short vignette voted on by our Patreon supporters. In this story, Flash & Amira spend a little time with newborn baby Hana.

Characters: Flash, Amira & Hana
Timeline: Set after Beyond Pain

Now available to read for free on Kit Rocha's website: https://www.kitrocha.com/book/flash-2/

Beyond Series:
Beyond Shame
Beyond Control
Beyond Denial (A Beyond Happily Ever After free short story)
Beyond Pain
Flash (Free short story)
Beyond Temptation (Novella in the Marked Anthology or as a separate ebook)
Beyond Jealousy
Beyond Solitude (Novella in the Alpha's After Dark Anthology or as a separate ebook)
Beyond Addiction
Beyond Possession (Novella)
Beyond Innocence
Closed Doors (A Beyond Happily Ever After short story)
Blank Canvas (A Beyond Happily Ever After free short story)
Beyond Ruin
Beyond Ecstasy
Beyond Surrender
Creative Incentives (Free short story)
Beyond Doubt (An O'Kane for Life novella)
Cravings (Free short story)
Beyond Forever (An O'Kane for Life novella)
Dessert (Free short story)
Ravished (Free short story)
Efficient (Free short story)
Memorial (Free short story)
Fierce Protector (Free short story)
A Little Bit Bad (Free short story)
Diplomacy (Free short story)

Gideon's Riders Series:
(Spin off series)
Ashwin
Makhai (Free short story)
Deacon
6th Sense (Free short story)
Ivan
High Priestess (Free short story)
Girls' Night Out (Free short story)

Visit Kit Rocha's website for more information.

Review:
Flash is a short story that was originally available through Kit Rocha's Patreon page where you can sponsor the author and read a short story every month. After six months these stories become available on Kit Rocha's website so you can now read this one for free. These stories aren't meant to be standalone, they're written to give fans of the series a chance to catch up with favourite characters and just give us little glimpses into what's happening in this world now that the main series has finished.

This story fits into the series timeline just after book 3, Beyond Pain, so it does contain spoilers for earlier books. It's an adorable slice of life scene between Flash, Amira and newborn Hana but it's quite bittersweet for anyone who has read the whole Beyond series. The last line made my heart hurt!

Source: Read for free on Kit Rocha's website

Other Reviews:
If you have reviewed this book on your blog please leave a link to your review in the comments & I'll add the link here.

Review: Makhai - Kit Rocha

Caution: this story is not meant to stand alone. The Beyond Happily Ever After stories are vignettes and outtakes showing the O’Kanes in their daily lives, in between the adventures and often after their happy endings. These stories were written exclusively for readers and fans of the series, and will probably not make very much sense to anyone not familiar with the characters.

A Patreon Reward Story. This story is a short vignette voted on by our Patreon supporters. This story features Ashwin’s friend (and fellow Makhai soldier) Samson as he watches Ashwin & Kora.

Characters: Samson (Ashwin/Kora)
Timeline: Set between Deacon and Ivan

Now available to read for free on Kit Rocha's website: https://www.kitrocha.com/book/makhai/

Beyond Series:
Beyond Shame
Beyond Control
Beyond Denial (A Beyond Happily Ever After free short story)
Beyond Pain
Flash (Free short story)
Beyond Temptation (Novella in the Marked Anthology or as a separate ebook)
Beyond Jealousy
Beyond Solitude (Novella in the Alpha's After Dark Anthology or as a separate ebook)
Beyond Addiction
Beyond Possession (Novella)
Beyond Innocence
Closed Doors (A Beyond Happily Ever After short story)
Blank Canvas (A Beyond Happily Ever After free short story)
Beyond Ruin
Beyond Ecstasy
Beyond Surrender
Creative Incentives (Free short story)
Beyond Doubt (An O'Kane for Life novella)
Cravings (Free short story)
Beyond Forever (An O'Kane for Life novella)
Dessert (Free short story)
Ravished (Free short story)
Efficient (Free short story)
Memorial (Free short story)
Fierce Protector (Free short story)
A Little Bit Bad (Free short story)
Diplomacy (Free short story)

Gideon's Riders Series:
(Spin off series)
Ashwin
Makhai (Free short story)
Deacon
6th Sense (Free short story)
Ivan
High Priestess (Free short story)
Girls' Night Out (Free short story)

Visit Kit Rocha's website for more information.

Review:
Makhai is a short story that was originally available through Kit Rocha's Patreon page where you can sponsor the author and read a short story every month. After six months these stories become available on Kit Rocha's website so you can now read this one for free. These stories aren't meant to be standalone, they're written to give fans of the series a chance to catch up with favourite characters and just give us little glimpses into what's happening in this world now that the main series has finished.

This short story is actually told from the point of view of Samson, one of the Makhai soldiers who trained with Ashwin. Samson has a very different way of looking at things because of his upbringing so it was interesting to see inside his head as he watched Ashwin and Kora together. I really hope we're going to get to spend more time with the Makhai soldiers when this series continues so I'd love to see Samson get a book of his own.

Source: Read for free on Kit Rocha's website

Other Reviews:
If you have reviewed this book on your blog please leave a link to your review in the comments & I'll add the link here.

Review: A Little Bit Bad - Kit Rocha

Caution: this story is not meant to stand alone. The Beyond Happily Ever After stories are vignettes and outtakes showing the O’Kanes in their daily lives, in between the adventures and often after their happy endings. These stories were written exclusively for readers and fans of the series, and will probably not make very much sense to anyone not familiar with the characters.

Memorial: A Patreon Reward Story. This story is a short vignette voted on by our Patreon supporters. In it, Tatiana enjoys her new shop and Zan pays a surprise visit.

Characters: Zan and Tatiana
Timeline: Set after the end of Beyond Forever

Now available to read for free on Kit Rocha's website: https://www.kitrocha.com/book/a-little-bit-bad/

Beyond Series:
Beyond Shame
Beyond Control
Beyond Denial (A Beyond Happily Ever After free short story)
Beyond Pain
Flash (Free short story)
Beyond Temptation (Novella in the Marked Anthology or as a separate ebook)
Beyond Jealousy
Beyond Solitude (Novella in the Alpha's After Dark Anthology or as a separate ebook)
Beyond Addiction
Beyond Possession (Novella)
Beyond Innocence
Closed Doors (A Beyond Happily Ever After short story)
Blank Canvas (A Beyond Happily Ever After free short story)
Beyond Ruin
Beyond Ecstasy
Beyond Surrender
Creative Incentives (Free short story)
Beyond Doubt (An O'Kane for Life novella)
Cravings (Free short story)
Beyond Forever (An O'Kane for Life novella)
Dessert (Free short story)
Ravished (Free short story)
Efficient (Free short story)
Memorial (Free short story)
Fierce Protector (Free short story)
A Little Bit Bad (Free short story)
Diplomacy (Free short story)

Gideon's Riders Series:
(Spin off series)
Ashwin
Makhai (Free short story)
Deacon
6th Sense (Free short story)
Ivan
High Priestess (Free short story)
Girls' Night Out (Free short story)

Visit Kit Rocha's website for more information.

Review:
A Little Bit Bad is a short story that was originally available through Kit Rocha's Patreon page where you can sponsor the author and read a short story every month. After six months these stories become available on Kit Rocha's website so you can now read this one for free. These stories aren't meant to be standalone, they're written to give fans of the series a chance to catch up with favourite characters and just give us little glimpses into what's happening in this world now that the main series has finished.

This story gives us a glimpse at Tatiana and Zan's life after the war. Tatiana is happy running her shop while surrounded by her chosen family and things are great between her and Zan. They're both still madly in love which was cute.

Source: Read for free on Kit Rocha's website

Other Reviews:
If you have reviewed this book on your blog please leave a link to your review in the comments & I'll add the link here.

Review: Their Second Chance - Katee Robert

When Noemi Huxley was forced to choose between love and duty…she chose duty. Two years later, the last thing she expects when she accepts the invite to attend the Thalanian royal wedding is to come face to face with her ex—or to find out he’s assigned as her security detail for the event.

Isaac Kozlov let the love of his life get away once before, and he’ll be damned before he does it a second time. He’s got three days to bring Noemi around to his way of thinking, and Isaac’s pulling out all the stops to make it happen. He’ll play dirty to convince Noemi that happily ever after doesn’t just belong in fairy tales.

THIS BOOK IS CURRENTLY AVAILABLE IN AUDIO ON THE READ ME ROMANCE PODCAST.

Listen for FREE here:
iTunes - http://geni.us/A888vRA
Google Play - http://geni.us/7lB4UBK
Website - www.readmeromance.com

Thalanian Dynasty:
Theirs for the Night (Novella)
Forever Theirs
Theirs Ever After
Their Second Chance (Free audiobook novella available via the Read Me Romance Podcast)

Visit Katee Robert's website for more information.

Review:
You can listen to this audiobook for free via the Read Me Romance Podcast or purchase the ebook from Amazon. Some of the ebooks will have extra content like an extended epilogue but I'm not sure if that's the case with this one since I've only listened to the audio version.

The only reason I actually subscribed to the Read Me Romance podcast is that I'm a big fan of Katee Robert's writing and I wanted to listen to Their Second Chance. To be honest the podcast audiobooks have been pretty hit and miss for me so I'm not sure if I'll listen to any of the others after this one but I'm glad I at least made it this far.

Noemi and Isaac were both likeable side characters in the Thalanian Dynasty trilogy so I was really pleased when I found out they were going to get their own story. It was obvious that they had chemistry but we never really saw much of their relationship in the earlier books so it was interesting to find out more about them in this story. Noemi has always put her family first so it wasn't a surprise to find out that she felt she couldn't marry a bodyguard but I'm glad she chose to ignore tradition and fight for what she really wanted in the end.

While I enjoyed Their Second Chance I have to admit I was left a little disappointed. I think these two deserved a longer story and it would have been so much more enjoyable if we'd been able to spend more time with them. We still saw very little of their past relationship, they've not been talking for 2 years and yet within hours of jumping back in bed together they're both talking marriage and happily ever afters. It didn't feel believable to me that things would move so quickly and sadly that ruined the story. As a free audiobook I suppose I can't complain too much but I definitely have no interest in reading this story again.

Source: Received from the author in exchange for an honest review

Other Reviews:
If you have reviewed this book on your blog please leave a link to your review in the comments & I'll add the link here.

Kindle:

Review: Any Way the Wind Blows - Seanan McGuire

As Tor.com departs from its longtime home, the iconic Flatiron building, we present this sweet farewell from Seanan McGuire.

At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

Visit Seanan McGuire's website for more information

Review:
Any Way the Wind Blows is a short story written by Seanan McGuire as a kind of goodbye to the Flatiron building as Tor move to new offices. Its available as a free ebook on Amazon (and presumably other ebook sites) or you can read it online at Tor's website here.

Seanan McGuire never fails to amaze me with the fantastic new story ideas that she keeps coming up with and this is no exception. I really loved her baklava take on the multiverse and like the idea of travellers breaking their way through the layers to explore new dimensions. It was such a fun idea and even though this is such a short story (around 20 pages) it already introduces us to some interesting new characters that I'd love to spend more time with.

As much as that's a positive it's also a negative because I think this world deserves so much more than a tiny short story. I'd love to revisit this in a full length book and go exploring with the crew. It could be such a fun universe to spend time in!

Also, let's just take a moment to appreciate that gorgeous cover artwork, isn't it stunning!

Source: Downloaded for free from Amazon but this can also be read on the Tor website here

Other Reviews:
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Kindle:

Review: Memento - Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff

December, 2574. Forty-three days before the BeiTech attack on Kerenza IV.

This is the story of my first friendship.

This is the tale of my first murder?

Some monsters are born.

But I?

< ERROR >

I was made.

Illuminae Files:
Memento (Prequel Novella)
Illuminae
Gemina
Obsidio

Visit Amie Kaufman's website or Jay Kristoff's website for more information

Review:
Memento is a prequel to the Illuminae Files series that gives us a bit more insight into Aidan and quite how he ended up malfunctioning in the way he did. It's written in the same format as the rest of the books in the series so contains a mixture of emails, instant messages, reports alongside Aidan's internal code and much more. I love how much depth Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff have been able to bring to this series with the creative layout and was impressed with how much they fitted into an 82 page novella too. This story had tension, drama and even romance but if you've already read Illuminae you'll know not to expect a happy ending!

The novella was a freebie for fans who preordered Aurora Rising, which was a wonderful idea but I honestly hope that the publishers will see sense and make this available for purchase too. I was extremely lucky that one of my American friends let me use her address for the preorder promotion and then sent this booklet on to me in the UK but it is so sad to me that there isn't currently a way for fans who missed the promotion, or fans that didn't have a handy American address they could use, to get hold of a copy.

Source: Received from Knopf Books as part of their Aurora Rising preorder giveaway

Other Reviews:
If you have reviewed this book on your blog please leave a link to your review in the comments & I'll add the link here.

Review: Fierce Protector - Kit Rocha

Caution: this story is not meant to stand alone. The Beyond Happily Ever After stories are vignettes and outtakes showing the O’Kanes in their daily lives, in between the adventures and often after their happy endings. These stories were written exclusively for readers and fans of the series, and will probably not make very much sense to anyone not familiar with the characters.

Fierce Protector: A Patreon Reward Story. This story is a short vignette voted on by our Patreon supporters. In it, Hawk tries to get a surprise for Jeni and ends up getting a surprise of his own.

Characters: Hawk, Jeni (and a little bit of Finn & Hawk’s sister!)
Timeline: Set after the end of Beyond Surrender

Now available to read for free on Kit Rocha's website: https://www.kitrocha.com/book/fierce-protector/

Beyond Series:
Beyond Shame
Beyond Control
Beyond Denial (A Beyond Happily Ever After free short story)
Beyond Pain
Flash (Free short story)
Beyond Temptation (Novella in the Marked Anthology or as a separate ebook)
Beyond Jealousy
Beyond Solitude (Novella in the Alpha's After Dark Anthology or as a separate ebook)
Beyond Addiction
Beyond Possession (Novella)
Beyond Innocence
Closed Doors (A Beyond Happily Ever After short story)
Blank Canvas (A Beyond Happily Ever After free short story)
Beyond Ruin
Beyond Ecstasy
Beyond Surrender
Creative Incentives (Free short story)
Beyond Doubt (An O'Kane for Life novella)
Cravings (Free short story)
Beyond Forever (An O'Kane for Life novella)
Dessert (Free short story)
Ravished (Free short story)
Efficient (Free short story)
Memorial (Free short story)
Fierce Protector (Free short story)
A Little Bit Bad (Free short story)
Diplomacy (Free short story)

Gideon's Riders Series:
(Spin off series)
Ashwin
Makhai (Free short story)
Deacon
6th Sense (Free short story)
Ivan
High Priestess (Free short story)
Girls' Night Out (Free short story)

Visit Kit Rocha's website for more information.

Review:
Fierce Protector is a short story that was originally available through Kit Rocha's Patreon page where you can sponsor the author and read a short story every month. After six months these stories become available on Kit Rocha's website so you can now read this one for free. These stories aren't meant to be standalone, they're written to give fans of the series a chance to catch up with favourite characters and just give us little glimpses into what's happening in this world now that the main series has finished.

In Fierce Protector we get a glimpse of how life is going for Jeni and Hawk as Hawk takes a road trip with Finn to visit his sister to get a very special gift for Jeni. This was a really cute read and I loved the chance to catch up with these characters. It's so nice to see life much more settled for Jeni and Hawk now that the war is over and they're getting the chance to build a new life for themselves. I love these short snippets!

Source: Read for free on Kit Rocha's website

Other Reviews:
If you have reviewed this book on your blog please leave a link to your review in the comments & I'll add the link here.

Review: Memorial - Kit Rocha

Caution: this story is not meant to stand alone. The Beyond Happily Ever After stories are vignettes and outtakes showing the O’Kanes in their daily lives, in between the adventures and often after their happy endings. These stories were written exclusively for readers and fans of the series, and will probably not make very much sense to anyone not familiar with the characters.

Memorial: A Patreon Reward Story. This story is a short vignette voted on by our Patreon supporters. In it, Noah & Emma finally take some time to remember someone they lost.

Characters: Noah & Emma
Timeline: Set after the end of Beyond Surrender

Now available to read for free on Kit Rocha's website: https://www.kitrocha.com/book/memorial/

Beyond Series:
Beyond Shame
Beyond Control
Beyond Denial (A Beyond Happily Ever After free short story)
Beyond Pain
Flash (Free short story)
Beyond Temptation (Novella in the Marked Anthology or as a separate ebook)
Beyond Jealousy
Beyond Solitude (Novella in the Alpha's After Dark Anthology or as a separate ebook)
Beyond Addiction
Beyond Possession (Novella)
Beyond Innocence
Closed Doors (A Beyond Happily Ever After short story)
Blank Canvas (A Beyond Happily Ever After free short story)
Beyond Ruin
Beyond Ecstasy
Beyond Surrender
Creative Incentives (Free short story)
Beyond Doubt (An O'Kane for Life novella)
Cravings (Free short story)
Beyond Forever (An O'Kane for Life novella)
Dessert (Free short story)
Ravished (Free short story)
Efficient (Free short story)
Memorial (Free short story)
Fierce Protector (Free short story)
A Little Bit Bad (Free short story)
Diplomacy (Free short story)

Gideon's Riders Series:
(Spin off series)
Ashwin
Makhai (Free short story)
Deacon
6th Sense (Free short story)
Ivan
High Priestess (Free short story)
Girls' Night Out (Free short story)

Visit Kit Rocha's website for more information.

Review:
Memorial is a short story that was originally available through Kit Rocha's Patreon page where you can sponsor the author and read a short story every month. After six months these stories become available on Kit Rocha's website so you can now read this one for free. These stories aren't meant to be standalone, they're written to give fans of the series a chance to catch up with favourite characters and just give us little glimpses into what's happening in this world now that the main series has finished.

In Memorial we get to see Emma and Noah remembering the people who are no longer with them, Emma's brother in particular. This story has quite a melancholy feel to it and was sadder than most of these short stories have been but it was still sweet to see how strong they are as a couple and that they are so supportive of each other.

Source: Read for free on Kit Rocha's website

Other Reviews:
If you have reviewed this book on your blog please leave a link to your review in the comments & I'll add the link here.

Review: A Very Charley Christmas - Darynda Jones

Exclusive Charley Davidson Short Story featured in the December 2016 newsletter.

You can read this story for free online here: https://us11.campaign-archive.com/?u=c2c549bf3e53fa785a8d3bb0d&id=4372d0474e

The story is set after The Curse of the Tenth Grave and contains spoilers for previous books.

Charley Davidson Series:
First Grave on the Right
For I Have Sinned (Novella)
Second Grave on the Left
Third Grave Dead Ahead
Fourth Grave Beneath My Feet
Fifth Grave Past the Light
Shimmer (Free Short Story)
Glow (Free Short Story)
Sixth Grave on the Edge
Seventh Grave and No Body
Eighth Grave After Dark
Brighter Than the Sun (Novella)
The Dirt on the Ninth Grave
The Curse of Tenth Grave
A Very Charley Christmas (Free Short Story)
Eleventh Grave in Moonlight
The Trouble with Twelfth Grave
Summoned to Thirteenth Grave

The Graveyard Shift (Novella)

Visit Darynda Jones' website for more information

Review:
I love Charley and Reyes so I'll jump at any opportunity to spend more time with them but to be honest for a Christmas story this one was pretty depressing. I never expected Reyes to have happy childhood memories so that wasn't a surprise but to find out Denise's apathy towards Charley lead to her getting half the number of presents that Gemma did just made me all the more angry with Denise AND with Charley's father. He watched his wife treat his daughter like a second class citizen for her entire life and didn't do anything to stop it. If he was any kind of decent father he'd have kicked Denise out YEARS ago and no matter how many good things he's done in the last couple of books it doesn't make up for years of neglect.

Throw in the fact that this is Beep's first Christmas and Charley and Reyes won't get to spend it with her and it was just heart breaking. Charley is overcompensating by buying a million presents for her but thats really not the same. This should be such a happy time for them and they should be getting to finally make some happy Christmas memories as a family yet they can't.

No, this wasn't the fun and cheery Christmas snippet I was hoping for, thats for sure.

Source: Read for free on the author's website

Other reviews of this book:
If you have reviewed this book on your blog please leave a link to your review in the comments & I'll add the link here.

Review: Glow - Darynda Jones

Glow is the sultry short story, Shimmer, as told through the eyes of Reyes Farrow.

You can read this story for free on Darynda Jones' website here

The story is set after Fifth Grave Past the Light and does contain spoilers for the first 5 books.

Charley Davidson Series:
First Grave on the Right
For I Have Sinned (Novella)
Second Grave on the Left
Third Grave Dead Ahead
Fourth Grave Beneath My Feet
Fifth Grave Past the Light
Shimmer (Free Short Story)
Glow (Free Short Story)
Sixth Grave on the Edge
Seventh Grave and No Body
Eighth Grave After Dark
Brighter Than the Sun (Novella)
The Dirt on the Ninth Grave
The Curse of Tenth Grave
A Very Charley Christmas (Free Short Story)
Eleventh Grave in Moonlight
The Trouble with Twelfth Grave
Summoned to Thirteenth Grave

The Graveyard Shift (Novella)

Visit Darynda Jones' website for more information

Review:
Glow is a free short story that can be read on Darynda Jones' website here: http://www.daryndajones.com/glow-by-darynda-jones-shimmer-as-told-through-the-eyes-of-reyes-farrow/

It's actually the same scene from the free short story Shimmer (you can read that one here: http://www.daryndajones.com/shimmer-a-charley-davidson-short-story/ if you haven't already and I'd recommend reading it before Glow) but this time it's told from Reyes' POV.

Yes you heard me, we get a scene from Reyes' point of view! I was over the moon when I realised that and I now love him more than ever! It's a really cute little Christmas scene between the two of them, plenty of humour, a lot of heat and all round just a fab little freebie.

Please be aware that these two stories contain a MAJOR spoiler for Fifth Grave Past the Light though so whatever you do don't read them until after you hit that point in the series!

Source: Read for free on the author's website

Other reviews of this book:
If you have reviewed this book on your blog please leave a link to your review in the comments & I'll add the link here.

Review: Shimmer - Darynda Jones

Shimmer is a Charley Davidson Christmas Short Story that can be read for free on Darynda Jones' website here

The story is set after Fifth Grave Past the Light and does contain spoilers for the first 5 books.

For more, the author released Glow, which is the same story but through the eyes of Reyes Farrow.

Charley Davidson Series:
First Grave on the Right
For I Have Sinned (Novella)
Second Grave on the Left
Third Grave Dead Ahead
Fourth Grave Beneath My Feet
Fifth Grave Past the Light
Shimmer (Free Short Story)
Glow (Free Short Story)
Sixth Grave on the Edge
Seventh Grave and No Body
Eighth Grave After Dark
Brighter Than the Sun (Novella)
The Dirt on the Ninth Grave
The Curse of Tenth Grave
A Very Charley Christmas (Free Short Story)
Eleventh Grave in Moonlight
The Trouble with Twelfth Grave
Summoned to Thirteenth Grave

The Graveyard Shift (Novella)

Visit Darynda Jones' website for more information

Review:
Shimmer is a free short story that can be read on Darynda Jones' website here: http://www.daryndajones.com/shimmer-a-charley-davidson-short-story/

It's a really cute Christmas scene between Charley and Reyes that made me smile and swoon in equal measures. I love these little extra snippets that some authors choose to give their fans and this just made me even more excited to continue reading the rest of the series.

Please be aware that this story contains MAJOR spoilers for Fifth Grave Past the Light though so whatever you do don't read it until after you hit that point in the series!

Source: Read for free on the author's website

Other reviews of this book:
If you have reviewed this book on your blog please leave a link to your review in the comments & I'll add the link here.

Review: Fake Love - Claire Contreras

In the twenty-five years I’ve known Cory York, the only thing I didn’t fake with him were my orgasms.

In seventh grade, I faked a stomach flu to stay home and keep him company while he was sick. I ended up with a virus that kept me out of school for an entire week.

In twelfth grade I faked an injury to avoid going to prom by myself. He took pity on me, dumped his original date and escorted me to the dance where the spurned girl dumped an entire pitcher of red punch over my head.

In college, I faked being in a relationship with him to get him out of a bind with a classmate. Most recently, I faked a proposal, an engagement, and wedding date.

Between the ring on my finger and the home cooked meals every night, I fell for him. So I left, because Cory York is a good friend, but a terrible boyfriend. I had to leave before he broke my heart.

We went from best friends to silent strangers. Now that I’m back in town, he wants me to be his plus one for his cousin’s wedding. This time I’ll have to fake not loving him.

THIS BOOK IS CURRENTLY AVAILABLE IN AUDIO ON THE READ ME ROMANCE PODCAST. Listen for FREE here:

iTunes - http://geni.us/A888vRA
Google Play - http://geni.us/7lB4UBK
Website - www.readmeromance.com

Visit Claire Contreras' website for more information.

Review:
You can listen to this audiobook for free via the Read Me Romance Podcast or purchase the ebook from Amazon. Some of the ebooks will have extra content like an extended epilogue but I'm not sure if that's the case with this one since I've only listened to the audio version.

I have to be honest and say that the stories I've listened to in the Read Me Romance podcast have been a bit hit and miss so far so I was a bit wary going into Fake Love, especially since I've not read anything by Claire Contreras before. Luckily I was pleasantly surprised and this was my favourite of the stories I've listened to so far.

I always enjoy a good friends to lovers romance and as much as I would have liked this to have been a longer book I still liked Evelyn and Cory's story. Evelyn has known she's in love with Cory for years, they've been best friends forever but even though they faked being in a relationship to get an ex girlfriend off his back she knows Cory doesn't feel the same way about her. Moving away to school has put a lot of distance between them both physically and emotionally, especially since they had a big falling out before she left. When she comes home to visit they're thrown together at a mutual friend's wedding and Evelyn finally realises that Cory might not be so emotionally uninvolved after all.

This was quite a cute story that was very quick and easy to read. I liked both of the main characters and thought it had enough depth for a short novella, obviously there could have been more character development if it had been a full length book but for a freebie introduction to the author it did a great job and I'll definitely consider reading more of Claire Contreras' books in the future.

Source: I listened to this audiobook for free via the Read Me Romance podcast.

Other Reviews:
If you have reviewed this book on your blog please leave a link to your review in the comments & I'll add the link here.

Kindle: