What I'm Reading: Blood and Sand (Jordan L Hawk)

So I think this is the end of this series, which is sad, although everything was wrapped up in a very satisfactory manner. The Pride seems to be an off-shoot of Hawk's earlier series, Hexworld, which I think is my favorite of all her series. So...it feels sort of like I'm saying good-bye all over again.

Anyway, they're both really similar in feel to Allie Therin's Magic in Manhattan series (which also has a spin-off or two)

So if you like prohibition-era, paranormal, m/m romantic suspense with shape-shifters, bootleggers, flappers and the like--these are the series for you!

Blood and Sand

Jordan L Hawk

https://jordanlhawk.com/products/blood-and-sand-the-pride-3-ebook

War has come to the streets of Chicago…

Sam Cunningham didn’t set out to work for a gangster, but his job as Mickey Sullivan’s hexmaster seems safe enough…until a gang war puts a target on both of their backs.

Cheetah-shifter Alistair Gatti is desperate to keep his family’s speakeasy up and running. But with a brutal assassin killing off the city’s bootleggers, his options are growing slimmer with every passing day.

Their one chance to remain safe and keep The Pride afloat lies in the form of an ancient hex looted from an Egyptian tomb. If Sam wants to escape Sullivan’s grasp, he needs to recreate the hex and get it to work.

But in a gang war fought by magic as well as guns, the odds are in no one’s favor, and the streets of Chicago will soon run red with blood.

Mug Shot: Mustang Island

This is another of the mugs I picked up during my Port Aransas trip last year. As I've mentioned previously, I'm a sucker for ceramic mugs that are made in the image of enamel camp mugs. Mustang Island is GORGEOUS and this mug is a cheerful reminder of it, even if it is a tad heavy for everyday use.

What I'm Reading: A "Trapped in the Elevator" Compilation

So, I noticed a strange pattern developing in my reading lately. I've encountered three books in which the H/H meet each other when they trapped together in an elevator. I've never written a 'trapped in the elevator' scene. I don't think I will--although I never say never when it comes to what my muse might come up with. She's a real "hold my beer" kinda sprite. But it's never happened to me, so I think I'm safe.

The first book--Let's Call the Whole Thing Off, by Andie Elliott--takes place during her book, I Could Write a Book, which I talked about earlier this year. The elevator in question gets stuck during a wedding with two of the wedding party inside. 

Let's Call the Whole Thing Off

Andie Elliott

 

https://www.amazon.com/Lets-Call-Whole-Thing-Off-ebook/dp/B0D87L24QN/

Serious-as-a-heart-attack reporter Robert Ryan is here, as promised, because frankly he couldn’t think of a way to get out of being in his rival—er, colleague’s—wedding.

 

Sunshiny actor turned groomsman-for-hire Jamie Daley is here because the guy who was supposed to walk down the aisle with Robert decided he had better things to do.

 

And now they are both stuck in an elevator because the Park Palace clearly needs to do more frequent inspections of their equipment.

 

What could possibly go right?

 

You Rock My World opens with two people trapped overnight in an elevator, which sounds amazingly uncomfortable. It's insta-love with a rock star hero, which normally isn't my favorite, but I like the way the author spun it into more of a right time, right place kind of thing.

You Rock My World
Camilla Isley

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0F4WPZDBZ

When Josie gets trapped overnight in an elevator with Rian Phoenix—global rock legend—she figures it’ll be a funny story to tell, not a plot twist with heartache written all over it. Only, the real Rian isn’t the bad boy the headlines describe. He is witty, kind, and unexpectedly swoon-worthy. By morning, they’ve shared snacks, secrets, and sparked a dangerously real connection. Then the elevator doors open. Reality crashes in, and Josie becomes a stranger he’s not supposed to remember. She walks away with a bruised heart and a vow to steer clear of rockstars forever.

A year later, Josie’s steady again—until she’s reassigned as Rian’s PR manager. Back in his orbit, she must keep things professional to protect her job—and avoid falling for him all over again. But Rian hasn’t forgotten her. Too bad picking up where they left off could cost her everything. With the world watching, Josie has to decide whether to guard her heart and her career… or press play on a love story that finally hits all the right notes.

I almost didn't include A Lot to Unpack in this list because I'm not actually finished with it yet. And also because while the H/H do get trapped in the elevator, it's only for a couple of minutes and then they immediately go their separate ways for AGES. Like...the next 25% of the book, as far as I can tell. But they DID meet in the elevator, and that seemed weirdly coincidental, so here you go...

A Lot to Unpack

Portia MacIntosh

https://www.amazon.com/Lot-Unpack-proximity-rivals-lovers-ebook/dp/B0F4WB3F1J/

Liberty’s just landed her dream job. The catch? It’s at Matcher, the dating app that ruined her life. After catching her boyfriend sending intimate pictures to everyone in a twenty mile radius, Liberty is struggling to get back into the dating game. Every man gives her the ick sooner or later.

Still, she’s having a great time travelling the world for work, until she’s assigned a secret mission: Travel to New York with her handsome and charming boss Jordan and swap out a contract from under his nose. It should be easy, but the more time Liberty spends with Jordan, the more she realises he might not be the bad boy she thought he was. But it turns out they’ve both got a lot to unpack, and Liberty still needs to complete her mission if she wants to keep her job - which means not breaking the one golden rule: do not fall for the boss!

Mug Shot: Texas-sized Mug

Here's another Texas mug. This one is really big! It's also a pretty shade of blue--bluebonnet blue, in fact. And the bluebonnet's are just coming into bloom at the moment. So this seemed like a good time to post it. 

I purchased this mug from a Travel-center gift shop (as you do!) somewhere in East Texas on a road trip to Nashville and Florida. I think it's the most classically Texan mug I own. It's also almost too big to hold, which...is possibly the point? 

What I'm Reading: Vampire in a Pear Tree (Katie MacAlister)

So this was a fun one. Although I'll admit I'd probably have enjoyed it even more if I'd read any of the earlier books in the (apparently two?) previous series in which most of the characters are found. I didn't know anyone's backstories and I don't think that was ideal. But there's vampires and demi-gods and mythology and magic, so that's right up my alley. 

Vampire in a Pear Tree
Katie MacAlister

https://www.amazon.com/Vampire-Pear-Tree-Ravenfall-Dark-ebook/dp/B0G2PJCF8B

On the twelth day of Christmas, Katie MacAlister brings to you:

12 shadow ravens
11 times someone wanted to brain a Greek god
10 cookies eaten by a starving knocker
9 chapters of pre-Christmas madness
8 sets of foam holiday gnomes ready for battle
7 cups of mulled Dragon's Blood wine
6 Dark Ones and dragons ready to rumble
5 diamond protection runes
4 exhausted dragon mates
3 Beloveds not suffering fools
2 broken legs
1 demon in Newfoundland form made very happy

This festive Ravenfall novella continues from where Axegate Walk and The Dragon With a Girl Tattoo ended, and is filled with a cranky raven who isn't what she appears, twenty-seven deranged druids, ancient Irish mythology in the flesh, and Owain the thane, feared by all...except the thief taker who's willing to risk everything to save him from those who want him destroyed.

A VAMPIRE IN A PEAR TREE features familiar Dark Ones and dragons, and brings holiday happiness to the Otherworld...in the face of what may well be imminent doom. 

Mug Shot: New Beginnings

This is such a cute mug. I love mugs with inspirational messages and this is so perfect for Spring. I also love the little tulip at the bottom. My parents planted tulips in the front yard flower beds when they first built the house I grew up in. But they planted the bulbs too deep so it took several years before they started to bloom. 

Shape wise, this seems more like a cup than a mug, except that it didn't come with a saucer...so mug it is. I like the design which is whimsical and childlike. 

What I'm Reading: Hearts and Glowers (K.M. Gillis)

This is a cute little Valentine's Day story, very low angst. I didn't expect to like it as much as I did. 

Hearts and Glowers
K.M. Gillis

https://www.amazon.com/Hearts-Glowers-Grumpy-Sunshine-Office-ebook/dp/B0CNMX54FP/

Meet Noel: a workaholic on track to become the youngest partner in his accounting firm’s history. He sees the world in black and white, but when a doe-eyed new hire at the firm starts wasting company time, he’s suddenly seeing red.

Enter Candy: She’s determined to prove to herself and her family that she can thrive in a new city on her terms. A hopeless romantic, her eternal optimism is put to the test by her gorgeous yet grumpy coworker.

She’s sweet, he’s sour. But these two opposites definitely attract. Tempers and passions will flare, but can they fight the fire between them without getting burned?

Hearts And Glowers is a spicy office romance romp.