Monday, August 31, 2020

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? (August 31, 2020)

It's Monday, What Are You Reading? is now hosted by Kathryn at The Book Date.

It’s Monday!  What Are You Reading is where we gather to share what we have read this past week and what we plan to read this week.  It is a great way to network with other bloggers, see some wonderful blogs, and put new titles on your reading list.

I will be combining my YA and adult reading and purchases on this one weekly roundup.

Other Than Reading...

How can it be the end of August already? Of course, with every day so much the same because of the pandemic, it is hard to really note the passage of time. This was another quiet week. A couple of grocery store trips and chauffeuring my brother to an eye doctor appointment were all my excitement. Rainy weather kept me indoors most of the week but I did get a short walk or two.

Our power bill arrived and was another one with no payment due. We even managed to add a couple of dollars to our credit column. The cloudy, rainy days have kept us from making very much power this week though.

I finally finished listening to all of the Honor Harrington series this week. I turned to my old favorite series - The Others by Anne Bishop - to listen to while I play games and walk. I do have a couple of new audiobooks that I haven't heard but I chose old favorites instead so that I can concentrate on lowering the Review stack. I have quite a few September releases to read soon.

Read Last Week

If you can't wait until the review shows up on my blog, reviews are posted to LibraryThing and Goodreads as soon as I write them (usually right after I finish reading a book.)

  • Uncompromising Honor by David Weber (Mine; Audiobook) - This 30 hour audiobook brings the Honor Harrington saga to a conclusion. However, lots of dangling plot threads could lead to lots more stories in the world. My review will be posted on January 6, 2021.
  • Murder at Hotel 1911 by Audrey Keown (Review; Sept. 8) - An amateur sleuth with anxiety issues and works at a vintage hotel investigates to save her friend, the Chef, from being convicted of negligence when one of the guests dies from an allergic reaction. My review was posted on August 29.
  • Hanging Falls by Margaret Mizushima (Review; September 8) - Mattie and her K-9 Robo investigate the death of a young man from a fundamentalist sect while dealing with her own family issues. My review will be posted on September 1.
  • Written in Red by Anne Bishop (Mine; Audiobook) - Goodreads tells me I've read this one 19 times and I've loved it each time.
  • Murder in the Bayou Boneyard by Ellen Byron (Review; September 8) - This is the 6th book in the Cajun Country mystery series. It takes place around Halloween and has bunches of recipes included that sound really good. My review will be posted on September 2.
Currently

Next Week
Reviews Posted
Want to See What I Added to My Stack Last Week?
What was your week like?






Sunday, August 30, 2020

State of the Stack #99 (August 30, 2020)

This is my monthly State of the Stack post. It is my way to keep track of my review books and to hopefully reduce the stack that I have waiting for me. I take a look at my review commitments on or near the first of the month.

Here is my Review Books Spreadsheet I list them in publication order and sort them by month. I can quickly see how many books I have for each date. Ideally, this keeps me from over-committing to review books. Check my spreadsheet to find out where I got each book.

I also do this post because sometimes (frequently) review books sit on my stack for a while before I read and review them. I try to read and review books within two weeks of publication date. Sometimes I can't, though, if too many books are releasing on the same date or if the book arrives too near its publication date and my calendar is already full.

I am very grateful to the authors and publishers who support my reading habit.

I Read This Month

These are listed in the order I read them. Links go to my reviews for all that have been posted already. Otherwise, the date the review is scheduled for is listed.
  1. Death at High Tide by Hannah Dennison (August 12)
  2. The Silence by Kendra Elliot (August 18)
  3. Shadows of the Dead by Spencer Kope (August 19)
  4. Ink & Sigil by Kevin Hearne (August 22)
  5. The Deadly Hours by Susanna Kearsley, Anna Lee Huber, Christine Trent and C. S. Harris (August 25)
  6. Sing Like No One's Listening by Vanessa Jones (August 26)
  7. Murder at Hotel 1911 by Audrey Keown (August 29)
  8. Hanging Falls by Margaret Mizushima (September 1)
  9. Murder in the Bayou Boneyard by Ellen Byron (September 2)
Read Previously, Reviews Posted This Month
  1. Cold to the Bone by Emery Hayes (August 5)
  2. Little Falls by Elizabeth Lewes (August 6)
  3. A Desperate Place by Jennifer Greer (August 8)
I Added These Books

These are listed in the order I received them. 
  1. Absence of Mercy by S. M Goodwin (Nov. 10)
  2. Portrait of Peril by Laura Joh Rowland (Jan. 12)
  3. A Curious Incident by Vicki Delany (Jan. 12)
  4. The Bright and Breaking Sea by Chloe Neill (Nov. 17)
  5. Marion Lane and the Midnight Murder by T.A. Willberg (Dec. 29)
  6. Archangel's Sun by Nalini Singh (Nov. 24)
  7. The Emperor's Wolves by Michelle Sagara (Oct. 13)
  8. Grave War by Kalayna Price (Nov. 24)
My Review Pile

September
October
November
December
January

Saturday, August 29, 2020

ARC Review: Murder at Hotel 1911 by Audrey Keown

Murder at Hotel 1911
Author: Audrey Keown
Series: An Ivy Nichols Mystery (Book 1)
Publication: Crooked Lane Books (September 8, 2020)

Description: A hotel clerk prone to panic attacks turns amateur detective in this elegant and atmospheric murder mystery.

If you want to spend a night amid the luxury and charm of the early 20th century, book a room at Hotel 1911. You'll find 28-year-old Ivy Nichols behind the reception desk. The hotel is Ivy's only link to the family that abandoned her when she was a small child. Now, plagued by panic attacks, she pedals her sea-green Schwinn bicycle to work every evening, hoping desperately to hold on to her job.

When wealthy, imperious Ms. Swain arrives at the hotel and belittles Ivy, the young woman seeks consolation in the welcoming kitchen of George, the hotel's chef. Despite her tormentor's barbs, she dutifully informs George that Ms. Swain has a deadly allergy to shellfish. So when Ms. Swain collapses at dinner and dies, the police suspect that the chef made a tragic, inexcusable error. Desperate to save George's career, Ivy sets out sleuthing. She learns that numerous people in and around the hotel had motives to contaminate Ms. Swain's plate. Among them are Jeffrey Swain, the victim's son and heir; painter Rose Jewett; and British expat Hemal Sandeep.

Even after the police find traces of shellfish in George's kitchen, Ivy is determined to clear her friend's name. But the stress of the investigation, in a hotel filled with suspects, threatens to precipitate another terrifying panic attack...or something more deadly.

My Thoughts: Ivy Nichols is the night clerk at Hotel 1911. The hotel was once her family's home before all the money was lost. Since it was her mother's family and her mother disappeared when she was in Second Grade, Ivy is keeping her relationship to the hotel's former owners to herself. She would like to find out more about the family though since she believes that the mental illnesses that have plagued generations of her relatives had their start there. Ivy herself suffers from anxiety and panic attacks.

Ivy's best friend is the chef at the hotel. When he is accused of negligence for allowing seafood to contaminate the meal of a severely allergic guest who dies, Ivy is determined to clear her friend's name despite knowing nothing about being a detective.

As Ivy looks into the lives and relationships of the hotel guests, she find lots of suspects. The woman's son resents that his mother holds the purse strings and is stopping him from making what he sees as a great investment. Another guest was a school friend of the victim who wants to try to rekindle a relationship with her. Still another guest doesn't want the son's investment idea to be realized since it would totally ruin his plans for an adjacent property. Then there is the organic farmer who supplies vegetables to the hotel who would also be ruined if the son's plans are realized.

This was an interesting mystery with an interesting main character. It was nicely paced and the suspense built through the story.

Favorite Quote:
I gave her an emphatic yawn. "Uh-huh. Interesting. So, let me ask you about something really closely related to that.If someone dies from poisoning as opposed to experiencing a fatal allergic reaction, how would you know?

"That's not related at all to portable luminescence--"

"Oh, silly me.Well, since we're on the subject now--"
I received this one in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley. You can buy your copy here.

Friday, August 28, 2020

Friday Memes: Murder at Hotel 1911 by Audrey Keown

Happy Friday everybody!
Book Beginnings on Friday is now hosted by Rose City ReaderThe Friday 56 is hosted at Freda's Voice. Check out the links above for the rules and for the posts of the participants each week. Don’t dig for your favorite book, the coolest, the most intellectual. Use the CLOSEST.

Beginning:
Amelia Swain's diamond-bedecked fingers gripped the high marble ledge between us, which seemed to be all that kept her from strangling me.
Friday 56:
I followed them down the fork of the drive that led to the garage at a safe distance, and Gabby followed me at an unsafe one.

Outside the garage, an ambulance was parked with its back door hanging open.
This week I am spotlighting Murder at Hotel 1911 by Audrey Keown which is from my review stack. Here is the description from Amazon:
A hotel clerk prone to panic attacks turns amateur detective in this elegant and atmospheric murder mystery.

If you want to spend a night amid the luxury and charm of the early 20th century, book a room at Hotel 1911. You'll find 28-year-old Ivy Nichols behind the reception desk. The hotel is Ivy's only link to the family that abandoned her when she was a small child. Now, plagued by panic attacks, she pedals her sea-green Schwinn bicycle to work every evening, hoping desperately to hold on to her job.

When wealthy, imperious Ms. Swain arrives at the hotel and belittles Ivy, the young woman seeks consolation in the welcoming kitchen of George, the hotel's chef. Despite her tormentor's barbs, she dutifully informs George that Ms. Swain has a deadly allergy to shellfish. So when Ms. Swain collapses at dinner and dies, the police suspect that the chef made a tragic, inexcusable error. Desperate to save George's career, Ivy sets out sleuthing. She learns that numerous people in and around the hotel had motives to contaminate Ms. Swain's plate. Among them are Jeffrey Swain, the victim's son and heir; painter Rose Jewett; and British expat Hemal Sandeep.

Even after the police find traces of shellfish in George's kitchen, Ivy is determined to clear her friend's name. But the stress of the investigation, in a hotel filled with suspects, threatens to precipitate another terrifying panic attack...or something more deadly.

Thursday, August 27, 2020

Audiobook: Fire Touched by Patricia Briggs

Fire Touched
Author: Patricia Briggs
Narrator: Lorelei King
Publication: Brilliance Audio (March 8, 2016)
Length: 10 hours and 8 minutes

Description: Tensions between the fae and humans are coming to a head. And when coyote shapeshifter Mercy and her Alpha werewolf mate, Adam, are called upon to stop a rampaging troll, they find themselves with something that could be used to make the fae back down and forestall out-and-out war: a human child stolen long ago by the fae.

Defying the most powerful werewolf in the country, the humans, and the fae, Mercy, Adam, and their pack choose to protect the boy no matter what the cost. But who will protect them from a boy who is fire touched?

My Thoughts: Tensions are rising in the Tri-Cities. The fae have retreated to their hidden reservations but have let very dangerous fae escape. Humans are wondering what they will do next.

Mercy and Adam come to be at odds with the Marrok when they provide a safe haven for a young human boy who has escaped from Underhill and when they declare that the Tri-Cities are under their protection. Aiden spent a long time Underhill and was given some powers to help him cope. But now Underhill is unhappy and wants him back and a variety of fae, all with their own agendas, want to give him back.

Mercy and Adam are unwilling to give this person, who looks like a child, into a situation that he fears. The Grey Lords have different plans. As a matter of fact, many different factions of Grey Lords all seem to have different plans. Adam and Mercy have to deal with the ones who have plans that will bring harm to humans or werewolves.

Mercy gets to spend time with a number of the fae that she knows and likes and a few that she can actually trust.

This story was more about political maneuvering than it was about battles though there were a couple of those too. And Mercy did have a few occasions when she could let her snarky side out.

Fans of the series won't want to miss this one.

I bought this one. You can buy your copy here.

Wednesday, August 26, 2020

ARC Review: Sing Like No One's Listening by Vanessa Jones

Sing Like No One's Listening
Author: Vanessa Jones
Publication: Peachtree Publishing Company (September 1, 2020)

Description: A moving story of grief and healing – sure to be a pure joy for any musical theater aficionado.

Nettie Delaney has just been accepted into a prestigious performing arts school―the very same school her superstar mother attended. With her mother’s shadow hanging over her, Nettie has her work cut out for her―and everyone is watching. To make matters worse, Nettie hasn’t been able to sing a single note since her mother died. Whenever she tries, she just clams up. But if Nettie’s going to survive a demanding first year and keep her place in a highly coveted program, she’ll have to work through her grief and deliver a showstopper or face expulsion.

All may not be lost, however, when Nettie stumbles upon a mysterious piano player in an empty studio after class. Masked behind a curtain, can Nettie summon the courage to find her voice? Or will the pressure and anxiety of performing come crashing down?

All about finding and raising your voice, and not throwing away your shot, Vanessa Jones’s well-crafted journey of grief and healing will pull readers along with its strong narrative voice and satisfying sense of mystery.

My Thoughts: This was an entertaining and emotional story about a young woman dealing with grief while trying to attend a high pressure college for the performing arts. Nettie Delaney is the daughter of a woman who was a star performer who died of cancer a year earlier. Nettie's mother was a dancer but Nettie's strength is her singing voice. At least it was until her mother died and she lost her voice. 

Nettie's audition was a disaster because she got a long-lost voice mail from her mother just before she was set to perform and found that she couldn't sing at all after receiving it. So she was very surprised to find that she had been admitted to the prestigious program despite her awful performance. Once she learns that that head of the school knew her mother, she thought she understood why she had been admitted.

The story is filled with a bunch of characters straight from teen melodramas. Almost the first person she meets is the awesomely talented and gay dancer Alec who decides that they are going to be best friends. And she meets the talented and handsome Fletch who wants to write songs with her. She makes friends with Kiki who is in the dance program and who feels like she always has to lose weight. There are the school Mean Girls in Natasha and Jade. Jade has a massive crush on Fletch, a dad who has bought her way into the school, and absolutely no talent. There is a mean ballet teacher who has taken Nettie in dislike and who belittles her at every opportunity. There are also sympathetic teachers like Michael who knew her mother and Steph who is the advanced vocal coach and determined to help Nettie get her voice back.

There is lots of drama too. Naturally Fletch and Nettie have difficulties with their romance. Between Jade who is constantly trying to attract Fletch's attention to Fletch's confusion about the real-like Nettie and the girl who is singing when he plays piano in the next room - who also happens to be Nettie. Time is spent with Nettie trying to figure out who her mystery accompanist is. She even suspects Jade at one point.

I liked the story and know that fans of musical theater and romance will enjoy it. Lots of the references to musical theater went right over the top of my head though because I'm a very casual fan of the genre. I really liked that Nettie had a strong body image and was confident in her appearance despite other people's attempts to belittle her. 

Favorite Quote:
I've always secretly longed for a Roberta Flack moment -- hasn't everyone? But now, here it is, and it isn't killing me softly -- it's battering me to death.
I received this one in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley. You can buy your copy here.

Tuesday, August 25, 2020

ARC Review: The Deadly Hours by Susanna Kearsley et al.

The Deadly Hours
Author: Susanna Kearsley, C. S. Harris. Anna Lee Huber, Christine Trent
Publication: Poisoned Pen Press (September 1, 2020)

Description: A stellar line-up of historical mystery novelists weaves the tale of a priceless and cursed gold watch as it passes through time wreaking havoc from one owner to another. The characters are irrevocably linked by fate, each playing a key role in breaking the curse and destroying the watch once and for all.

From 1733 Italy to Edinburgh in 1831 to a series of chilling murders in 1870 London, and a lethal game of revenge decades later, the watch touches lives with misfortune, until it comes into the reach of one young woman who might be able to stop it for good.

My Thoughts: This is a collection of four novellas by well-known authors of historical mysteries all featuring a cursed pocket watch.

In "Weapon of Choice" by Susanna Kearsley, the pocket watch finds itself in a supporting role in a plot to murder a relative of the exiled King James. The story is also a romance between recently married Hugh MacPherson and Mary Dundas who are apparently characters featured in another of the author's stories.

"In a Fevered Hour" by Anna Lee Huber moves the story one hundred years to 1831 and brings the cursed watch to Edinburgh where Lady Darby and her new husband Simon Gage are tasked with finding it by Bonnie Brock Kincaid since it seems to be causing problems for him. 

"A Pocket Full of Death" by Christine Trent takes place in 1870 where Violet Harper is an undertaker who is reburying a newly made Viscount's ancestors into a new family graveyard and discovers the pocket watch in the grave of the man being moved. 

"Siren's Call" by C. S. Harris moves the story to 1944 and brings the story of the cursed watch to a conclusion. It also tells the story of life in wartime Britain and the search for possible German spies. There is also a romance in this one.

I enjoyed all of the stories but liked "Weapon of Choice" the least probably because I felt like I should have known more about the main characters in the story. I've solved that one by purchasing A Desperate Fortune which tells the fuller story of those characters. I liked "Siren's Call" the best both because of the time period and because of the strength of the mystery.

Favorite Quote:
This was what he'd been trained to do, after all: peer at the mangled bodies of the dead and chase down their killers.

It had always struck Jude as a damned unpleasant way to spend your life.

I received this one in exchange for an honest review from Edelweiss. You can buy your copy here.

Monday, August 24, 2020

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? (August 24, 2020)

It's Monday, What Are You Reading? is now hosted by Kathryn at The Book Date.

It’s Monday!  What Are You Reading is where we gather to share what we have read this past week and what we plan to read this week.  It is a great way to network with other bloggers, see some wonderful blogs, and put new titles on your reading list.

I will be combining my YA and adult reading and purchases on this one weekly roundup.

Other Than Reading...

This was a slightly more active week than I've had lately. A friend came to spend a couple of days with me before she goes back to work on Monday. We chatted until the early hours, went for long walks, and went out to eat a couple of times. It was fun but now I'm back to quiet times and think I've finally caught up on the sleep I missed.

This week should see the end of my Honor Harrington marathon. I also have some review books that need to be read really soon since they are releasing in early September. We have had rainy days for the last couple of days which make for great reading weather but I think the weather is supposed to be nice for walking again this week.

I have a few baking projects on tap for this week too. I need to bake bread again. We are also out of our frozen chocolate chip cookie dough and our portion-controlled brownies. I'll probably be doing other cooking this week too since my brother will be home for dinner but working during the middle of the day which will keep him from doing the cooking. I shouldn't complain because he does do most of the cooking for us both.

Read Last Week

If you can't wait until the review shows up on my blog, reviews are posted to LibraryThing and Goodreads as soon as I write them (usually right after I finish reading a book.)
  • Shadow of Victory by David Weber (Mine; Audiobook) - 37 hours and 19 minutes of space adventure in the Honor Harrington series. My review will be posted on November 12.
  • Cauldron of Ghosts by David Weber and Eric Flint (Mine; Audiobook) - 22 hours and 53 minutes that take place mainly on Mesa and tells about the consequences of the Mesan Alignment to the planet. My review will be posted on November 19.
  • The Deadly Hours by Susanna Kearsley, C. S. Harris, Anna Lee Huber, & Christine Trent (Review; September 1) - This is a series of linked novellas that all tell the story of a cursed pocket watch and the people who interact with it. My review will be posted on August 25.
  • Ink & Sigil by Kevin Hearne (Review; August 25) - New fantasy set in the Iron Druid world with engaging characters and lots of humor. My review was posted on August 22.
  • Sing Like No One's Listening by Vanessa Jones (YA Review; September 1) -YA melodrama for fans of romance and musical theater. Lots of the characters were stereotypes but the main character was engaging. My review will be posted on August 26.
Currently
  • Uncompromising Honor by David Weber (Mine; Audiobook) - The final book (so far) in the Honor Harrington series.
Next Week

All are review books this week.
Reviews Posted
Want to See What I Added to My Stack Last Week?

Bought
Review
What was your week like?

Saturday, August 22, 2020

ARC Review: Ink & Sigil by Kevin Hearne

Ink & Sigil
Author: Kevin Hearne
Publication: Del Rey (August 25, 2020)

Description: Al MacBharrais is both blessed and cursed. He is blessed with an extraordinary white moustache, an appreciation for craft cocktails—and a most unique magical talent. He can cast spells with magically enchanted ink and he uses his gifts to protect our world from rogue minions of various pantheons, especially the Fae.

But he is also cursed. Anyone who hears his voice will begin to feel an inexplicable hatred for Al, so he can only communicate through the written word or speech apps. And his apprentices keep dying in peculiar freak accidents. As his personal life crumbles around him, he devotes his life to his work, all the while trying to crack the secret of his curse.

But when his latest apprentice, Gordie, turns up dead in his Glasgow flat, Al discovers evidence that Gordie was living a secret life of crime. Now Al is forced to play detective—while avoiding actual detectives who are wondering why death seems to always follow Al. Investigating his apprentice’s death will take him through Scotland’s magical underworld, and he’ll need the help of a mischievous hobgoblin if he’s to survive.

My Thoughts: This story introduces Al MacBharrais who is a sigil agent. Sigil agents use special, magical ink to create sigils which have magical effects. Sigil agents are also the ones who write the contracts that keep beings from the nine magical realms from having free reign on Earth. 

Al is an older man who is a grieving widower and who is under a curse. Anyone who hears his voice also begins to hate him. So he uses his phone and computer's speech apps to do his talking for him. 

Al also has a problem with his apprentices. When the story begins, he is informed of the death of his seventh apprentice who fell victim to eating a raisin scone. Al has lost all of his apprentices to a series of freak accidents. 

As he looks into his apprentices death and also goes to the scene to gather up all of his special inks and pens before someone might accidentally use them, he learns that his apprentice wasn't quite what he had thought. In fact it looks like Gordie was trafficking in fae for some unknown purpose. When Al arrives at his apartment, he discovers that Gordie had captured a hob and was planning to sell him. Hiding the hob from the police is not a trivial task even with his magical sigils. D I Munro should have had her memory wiped but she still remembers bits and pieces and finds Al very suspicious.

Al isn't alone in his investigation. His office manager Nadia is also a battle seer and he is friends with a hacker who goes by the name of Saxon Codpiece. The hob who names himself Buck Foi also becomes one of his partners in this enterprise. Together they find themselves looking into suspicious government agencies and evil scientists as they try to stop the trafficking in fae.

The story is filled with humor but also includes a number of more serious issues like human trafficking. I enjoyed Al's character with his cursed loneliness and grief, well-tended mustache, love of designer gin, and determination to do the right thing even though he isn't totally against stealing already stolen money.

Favorite Quote:
[I can use it for lots of things, sure. But there are people who can find what you need faster than an old man pecking around a search engine.]

"Yeah? Who?"

]Librarians.]
I received this one in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley. You can buy your copy here.

Friday, August 21, 2020

Friday Memes: Ink & Sigil by Kevin Hearne

Happy Friday everybody!
Book Beginnings on Friday is now hosted by Rose City ReaderThe Friday 56 is hosted at Freda's Voice. Check out the links above for the rules and for the posts of the participants each week. Don’t dig for your favorite book, the coolest, the most intellectual. Use the CLOSEST.

Beginning:
Deid apprentices tend to tarnish a man's reputation after a while. I'm beginning to wonder when mine will be beyond repair.
Friday 56:
"I said they wouldnae go around assassinating folk because that draws too much attention. But killing spies is different, isn't it? If ye're a nation with spies and some of yer spooky bastards get kilt, ye don't go squawking about it in the press and expelling diplomats and threatening war."
This week I am spotlighting Ink & Sigil by Kevin Hearne from my review stack. Here is the description from Amazon:
Al MacBharrais is both blessed and cursed. He is blessed with an extraordinary white moustache, an appreciation for craft cocktails—and a most unique magical talent. He can cast spells with magically enchanted ink and he uses his gifts to protect our world from rogue minions of various pantheons, especially the Fae.

But he is also cursed. Anyone who hears his voice will begin to feel an inexplicable hatred for Al, so he can only communicate through the written word or speech apps. And his apprentices keep dying in peculiar freak accidents. As his personal life crumbles around him, he devotes his life to his work, all the while trying to crack the secret of his curse.

But when his latest apprentice, Gordie, turns up dead in his Glasgow flat, Al discovers evidence that Gordie was living a secret life of crime. Now Al is forced to play detective—while avoiding actual detectives who are wondering why death seems to always follow Al. Investigating his apprentice’s death will take him through Scotland’s magical underworld, and he’ll need the help of a mischievous hobgoblin if he’s to survive.

Thursday, August 20, 2020

Audiobook: Night Broken by Patricia Briggs

Night Broken
Author: Patricia Briggs
Narrator: Lorelei King
Publication: Brilliance Audio (March 11, 2014)
Length: 10 hours and 5 minutes

Description: #1 New York Times bestselling author Patricia Briggs’s Mercy Thompson series has been hailed as “one of the best” (Fiction Vixen Book Reviews). Now Mercy must deal with an unwanted guest—one that brings a threat unlike anything she’s ever known.

An unexpected phone call heralds a new challenge for Mercy. Her mate Adam’s ex-wife is in trouble, on the run from a stalker. Adam isn’t the kind of man to turn away a person in need—and Mercy knows it. But with Christy holed up in Adam’s house, Mercy can’t shake the feeling that something about the situation isn’t right.

Soon her suspicions are confirmed when she learns that Christy has the furthest thing from good intentions. She wants Adam back, and she’s willing to do whatever it takes to get him, including turning Adam’s pack against Mercy.

Mercy isn’t about to step down without a fight, but there’s a more dangerous threat circling. Christy’s stalker is more than a bad man—in fact, he may not be human at all. As the bodies start piling up, Mercy must put her personal troubles aside to face a creature with the power to tear her whole world apart.

My Thoughts: Things are going well for Mercy, her husband Adam, and Adam's pack until Adam gets a phone call from his ex-wife asking for help because she has a stalker. He can't turn her down and Mercy is going to help, too, despite the fact that she knows Christy for the vindictive, manipulative kind of person who won't be good for their new balance.

As soon as she arrives, Christy begins her insidious ways and tried to nudge Mercy out of her new place in the Pack while making it look like Mercy has it in for her. Besides, she isn't very forthcoming about the man she insists is stalking her.

When the stalker visits Mercy's garage, it becomes apparent that Christy has been leaving things out. It turns out that her stalker is a volcano god who has fixated on Christy. Some immortal whose ability to channel fire is not something any of them have dealt with before or know how to deal with now.

In addition, one of the Gray Lords is also on Mercy's case to return the walking stick that has been following her around for the last few books. Because it was developing a taste for blood, Mercy had gifted it to Coyote and now she can't find him.

Mercy does find a brother she never knew she had. Gary hates Coyote and blames him for all sorts of dangerous situations he has gotten him into. This situation is no different. Gary's visions are essential for Mercy to find a way to defeat the volcano god and protect those she loves.

This was engaging, fast-paced and entertaining. I like the sharp contrast between Mercy and Christy which shows that Adam has learned to make better choices about the women he loves. I like that Mercy has such a strong protective streak and won't let anyone she cares about suffer.

I bought this one. You can buy your copy here.