OYENTE

Kristine

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Another "new to me" author

Total
4 out of 5 stars
Ejecución
4 out of 5 stars
Historia
4 out of 5 stars

Revisado: 04-28-25

Another "new to me" author. This was a book that somehow ended up in my Audible library and I pretty much went into it without any knowledge.

The premise of the story is that our FMC - Sally Mason - is coming home from a night school class in 1953 and has a crazy experience with a bright blue light. When she awakens, she (and her car) are not in 1953 any longer and discovers that it is now 2023.

There are a lot of side stories in this one. We meet a secondary character who works in an offshoot of the CIA in the UAP (formerly called UFO's) department. I think it now stands for "unidentified anomalous phenomena". Anyway, we follow along as the story unfolds and as Sally is faced with a world that is very different from the world she knew.

I did enjoy this. I listened to this on audio and the narration was done by another first time narrator for me in Natalie Duke.

This is my first time reading anything by this author but I do not think it will be the last.

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Loved it!

Total
4 out of 5 stars
Ejecución
5 out of 5 stars
Historia
4 out of 5 stars

Revisado: 04-20-25

I actually wasn't sure if I was going to read this or not. It has been a while since I've read a Lucy Score book (even though I have loved them) and I wasn't sure which one to start with, so I took a peek at some reviews. There were some really mixed messages, and I finally thought, "what the heck?" The premise sounded interesting, and my interest was piqued.

This book actually had some really funny moments where I had to try EXTREMELY hard not to laugh out loud (I didn't always succeed. Why is that important? Because I was lying in bed with my husband asleep and laughing out loud and waking him up is not polite. But there WERE a couple of close calls where I to put my hand over my mouth :)

The premise was fun. A struggling former bestselling writer who has experienced some huge defeats in her personal life and cannot seem to get out of her funk. She decides to up and move to a small town and buys a house sight unseen over the internet. Of course, she drags her best friend/editor along with her and there begins a very comical set of circumstances.

The MMC is a grumpy MC. In many reviews I read that a lot of people didn't like him - he was too grumpy. I actually REALY liked him. While he was grumpy, he NEVER did anything that would hurt our FMC Hazel. In fact, it became apparent quite quickly that he would do pretty much anything she asked.

What made this story so good was the found family (this small town is so freaking awesome) and comical. Also, the relationships that begin to develop when she starts to let herself out there. I really liked MMC Campbell Bishop (see above). But best of all was his family...they were awesome.

Of course the secondary characters like her best friend (am having a brain freeze on her name), and the many townspeople just pushed this to another level. Not to forget the town mascot- bald eagle Goose and so many other just hilarious things that made me laugh so many times.......good times....

I'm excited to say that she is working on book 2 in this series and it is going to be her bestie (who's name has fled my mind) and one of Cam's brothers......Can't wait.

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Great prequel!

Total
4 out of 5 stars
Ejecución
5 out of 5 stars
Historia
4 out of 5 stars

Revisado: 04-20-25

4.25 Stars

Really liked this prequel. Unfortunately, I realized that I read the first book in this series over 6 years ago and was having a hard time remembering the story- so I gave up and decided to tackle this like a brand new book. It did not disappoint.

We get to meet the 37th Legion - part of the Empire's Army. The 37th already has a reputation as being the best. The Legatus (or head guy) is Marcus. At this time, the entire 37th is so very young. They are made up of 16 year old boys who were given to the Empire by decree when they were 7 years old. It is a law that all 2nd sons have to be given up to the Empire....NO EXCEPTIONS. Cruel, right? They have been together their entire lives (or most of it) and to them, their family is their brothers in arms. These boys/men are their only family - and they are over 4000 soldiers strong.

We meet them when they are at one of the last holdouts in the Empire. A city who residents have barricaded themselves in a fortress ( full of the rebel faction) that is fighting to not be overtaken and be pulled under the umbrella of the Empire. It has been a challenge.

The 37th is also working with the 29th - much older men who are the exact opposite of our guys. They are sadistic, mean, and just bully's. Since the 37th is under the command of the 29th, there is a lot of beatings, and just outright cruelty among the men. They are furious that these "kids" are more respected than they are.

This novella paints a picture about life both in the Legions and on the battlefield. It is not pretty and we get to see how Marcus handles these challenges.

I also fell in love with Agrippa. I am very anxious to discover if he is going to be in any of the upcoming books. My fingers are crossed because I think he has some retribution to deliver.

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A fun and easy listen

Total
3 out of 5 stars
Ejecución
3 out of 5 stars
Historia
3 out of 5 stars

Revisado: 04-20-25

This is a fast and easy read/listen that honestly does not require too much mind involvement. Since this is the 3rd book in the series, we have already met the characters and it is easy to fall back into this world.

The story line is always a bit "out there" but not in a patronizing or crazy way. It's just a fun storyline that you can take with a grain of salt and enjoy the ride knowing that this is not going to be one of those super serious books that necissitate a lot of concentration and mind power.

If you have a couple of haours and want something that is fun with a HEA - this might be for you.

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4.5 Stars ⭐️

Total
5 out of 5 stars
Ejecución
5 out of 5 stars
Historia
5 out of 5 stars

Revisado: 04-16-25

This was a short novella set in the aftermath of the War in the Hellequin Universe. It features Mordred and many of our favorite characters that we have come to know and love over the years.

There is an opening of a Museum Exhibit occurring in London and Mordred and the gang show up. Unfortunately, there is an attack that occurs by lots of bad guys and Mordred is trying to figure out what they are after.

This is a very quick and easy read/listen and it was fun to drop back into this world for a quick visit while we got to see the good guys get another win.

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The narration of this book was excellent

Total
3 out of 5 stars
Ejecución
4 out of 5 stars
Historia
3 out of 5 stars

Revisado: 04-16-25

This is a perfect example of a series that starts off so strong, yet seems to slide down with each consecutive book. Powerless came out of nowhere and just grabbed me and didn't let go. The second book - Reckless -seemed to suffer from "middle book" syndrome and felt more like filler in between as it set up the series for the finale. I was really looking forward to Fearless as we kind of had an unexpected ending in Reckless.

Unfortunately, this book never seemed to rise to the level as the first book. The entire book is spent with Paedyn being betrothed to Kitt and teamed up with Kai as she underwent the various trials that she had to undergo. Yeah....crazy, right? One thing I did feel in this book was that Kai was consistent in his feelings towards Paedyn. There wasn't any miscommunication, or back and forth - just his honest feelings towards her and the admission that he was going to do his best to stand by her side.

Kitt , in this book, was the biggest disappointment. His behavior was so very inconsistent, and his personality changes made it so difficult to empathize with him. The way in which he changed so dramatically was hard to grasp and made the pacing of the book feel unstable.

There are several "twists" in this book that honestly felt like they were done for shock value. I had a REALLY hard time with one of them and I just could not seem to get over the ramifications of it. For this story being in the Fantasy Romance genre - the result of the twist made me nauseous.

All in all, the series as a whole was entertaining and I am glad I read it. Yes, it was a little disappointing but after such a great first book, it may have been that my expectations were just too high.

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What a pleasant surprise.....

Total
4 out of 5 stars
Ejecución
5 out of 5 stars
Historia
4 out of 5 stars

Revisado: 04-14-25

4.25 Stars 🌟

What the heck?

That cliffhanger was BRUTAL. UGH…..

This was my unexpected surprise of the week. Another "new to me" author that I chose because the plot sounded interesting. This is a "why choose?" story, but it is different than others in this genre because the FMC -Rylee Gray - actually gets to spend a month with each of the 4 Princes. One month with each Prince. Separately.

That changes the dynamic from an insta-love type of atmosphere, to one where each couple can actually spend time getting to know each other and truly develop a relationship.

With that being said, we are introduced to a new world - the kingdom of Lumathyst - where there were 4 goddesses that picked 4 mates (they became the Kings). They each had sons and then the goddesses went into a purposeful sleep. The sons grew up and when they matured, they were required to fulfill the guidelines left by their mothers. They EACH had to agree on and accept ONE female between the four of them. A mate who would willingly accept them forever. This woman would become an immortal - their Queen -and that would unlock their upgraded magic, allowing them to ascend to their thrones.

To find this woman, each year, once a year, they had an event called "the choosing" where they chose one woman. They then gave the woman the opportunity to try to get to know them and to see whether or not she was a fit for their group. Unfortunately, these Princes were EXTREMELY powerful - with enormous magical ability - and this seemed to be too intimidating for past candidates.

FMC Rylee Gray however, was everything that she shouldn't have been. She lived in the "lower class" area of Lumathyst. The inhabitants of this area were not even allowed to cross the border into Lumathyst. Rylee has been illegally crossing as long a she can remember. Also, Rylee is a Demi. In other words, she has magic.....powerful magic that is forbidden and that she should not have. It would be a death sentence if her magic was discovered.

She ends up at the choosing as a lark. Her friends forged the invitations and only went to go to a party. To eat, drink, and get the jeweled broach that each contestant gets as a souvenir that they could later sell. There was NO chance that she was going to be selected, right?

Because she is who she is - she isn't intimidated by the Princes and because of her magic, it gives her a confidence to be able to stand up to the people who are opposed to her being a viable candidate. She gets to spend the time with each Prince and we get to see them actually develop and grow in their relationships.

But she still has her secrets......

Yep, the cliffhanger at the end of this book is brutal. That just means that I will be chomping at the bit to get the next book. I don't even know when it is coming out (I better go check.......)

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Quick and easy read/listen

Total
4 out of 5 stars
Ejecución
4 out of 5 stars
Historia
4 out of 5 stars

Revisado: 04-14-25

This is the third book in this series focused on Maverick, Montana. This book spotlights Melanie Jacobs and Colton Freeze. They have been best friends FOREVER. Actually, there are three in their group Hawk being the third in their trio. But Hawk has been deployed and the three have kind of grown apart as they have gotten older.

Melanie has been in a relationship that died a while ago and they are really just friends at this point, but she is getting worried about her timeline for being able to become a mother. She has decided that she is going to pursue some options on proceeding alone.

Colton is the man with the plan. He plans EVERYTHING. When he discovers that Melanie is having some unexpected issues, he decides it is his job to help.

We get to watch the fireworks as the two of them try to navigate the change in their relationship from friends to ......something more?

A quick and easy read/listen that ends with a really satisfying HEA. The funniest thing to me was the town bet.

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Great start to this new series!

Total
4 out of 5 stars
Ejecución
5 out of 5 stars
Historia
4 out of 5 stars

Revisado: 04-14-25

4.25 Stars ⭐️

I was already a huge fan of Mr. McHugh's, so I didn't really pay too much attention to the summary when I hit the "Buy" button. Once I actually started the book, I had to stop and go find the plot summary because it wasn't taking place in any of the already formed worlds of his existing series. Imagine my surprise when I realized that this was a brand new series - a whole new world - and we were going into space!

We are introduced to Felix Drake, but we aren't really given too much information about him in the beginning. We are told that he is a Warden and that the Warden's are a fairly important enforcement group who investigate crimes affecting the Royal Family or the ruling members of the Union Empire. We begin to learn about the Union Empire- a collection of THOUSANDS of planets under one umbrella with The King of Stars the ruling authority. The setting is very futuristic, with space travel, flying vehicles, starships -the whole works.

And with so many different planets, there are different species of people. There are humans - of which Felix Drake falls under, but we get to see a variety of species - Sarcian, Oreaf, Dreic, etc. Then, to make everything even more interesting, there are certain Humans who have some type of ability to affect aether - another word for having some type of magic. These Humans are called Sages.

So, we begin to learn things slowly. All we know in the beginning is that Felix Drake is a Warden Team Leader, and he is tasked with investigating a murder. The murder however, is important because 2 of the 3 victims are children of Counselor's (think Senators) and Drake surprises everyone when he lets them know that he knew these 2 victims. That he actually grew up with them before leaving the planet at 16 years of age. Granted, it has been decades, but this opens the door to all of us starting to find out who Felix Drake really is. Top that off with a very interesting storyline and we are off to the races.

I actually really enjoyed this book. Yes, it is the first book so we did have to deal with the building of the world, but it is done nicely. There is also a great group of secondary characters - both on Felix's Warden Team, and there are also bad guys galore. There is an overarching storyline that begins to come together later in the timeline, but we get to follow along as Felix tries to figure out what the heck is going on and who is trying to kill the members of the Royal Family.

This book ties up some of the plot lines, but it still leaves several issues wide open. We've learned WHO the bad guy/gal is, but that person is still out there somewhere. We haven't learned the WHY yet, so there are still many unanswered questions that will hopefully be answered in the next book.

Honestly, I really liked Felix as a MMC, but my favorite character is Bokk - he's a Synth with an actual personality. What's a Synth you ask? Well, you need to read the book to find out. I especially LOVED getting chapters in Bokk's POV. That was too cool.

So, now I'm invested in another open series from Mr. McHugh and happy for it. Add to this the fact that it is narrated by Tim Gerard Reynolds and I'm completely on board.

Can't wait for his next book - in which ever series he puts out.

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Michael Dean does a fantastic job

Total
4 out of 5 stars
Ejecución
5 out of 5 stars
Historia
4 out of 5 stars

Revisado: 04-10-25

Well, I did it again. I have this big pet peeve with reading books out of order. In other words, this is book 5 in this series. Usually, if I realize this after I start, I'd stop and go back and find the first book and go from there. Recently, I seem to be just saying "what the heck?" and going forward anyway. Sometimes it matters, sometimes it doesn't.

This time, I don't think that it made a difference in being able to understand the story itself, but where I think it DID make a difference was in being able to feel the strong relationship that has been built between the Brotherhood in the last 4 books. Granted, I had no idea who any of the other guys were....there was that, but I did realize that the guys were extremely close. I still wonder if Kenji Toma was a big part of the group in the past, or if he just becomes important in this book?

So, about this book. First we meet our MMC Landry Davis, who is apparently a world famous supermodel. He is also a member of the Billionaire Brotherhood, which if I understand it correctly, they are 5 guys who developed some type of software that they eventually sold for billions of dollars. (Hence the name).

Then there is Kenji Toma, our other MMC - he is Landry's Personal Assistant. He is extremely smart and very capable. It looks like these two have been having what Kenji calls an "enemies with benefits" relationship for the last three years. They have kept it completely on the down low and neither man has been willing to move the relationship forward - well, Landry has tried, but Kenji thinks that Landry isn't serious about it and he has blown him off.

It appears that Landry has some secrets that he hasn't shared with anyone. His family is from England and the name he has been using lately is really a pseudonym because he is actually the heir to the Davenport Earldom - the Viscount Hawling. There is going to come a time when he will be called back to take his father's place in the House of Lords. But that won't be anytime soon, right?

When Kenji decides to finally take a well earned vacation, he chooses to go to a meditation retreat on some small island in South America. It is supposed to be a month long retreat without any electronics - meaning no phones. It just so happens that after 2 weeks, there is some type of uprising with the miners on the island and before you know it, it has blown up to a massive insurrection. The compound where Kenji is staying is taken over by the militants and all of the attendees are taken hostage. It is a very volatile situation.

The minute that Landry discovers what is going on, he is frantic and committed to doing whatever it takes to get Kenji rescued. To utilize some favors with the British PM, he states that Kenji is his fiancé, and he also says that he will come back to London and take his place in the House of Lords - as long as Kenji is rescued along with another high ranking British citizen. There is a ton of media coverage of the rescue and oops, Landry forgot to let any of his best friends know who he was BEFORE the news broke. Basically this book deals with the aftermath of all of this.

I really liked Kenji and honestly liked Landry as well. Both men are dealing with hurt feelings. Kenji, because he was lied to for the entirety of their relationship. Landry, because he has been trying to let Kenji know what his feelings are and has had his feelings thrown back in his face time and time again. Granted, Kenji is not walking in to a normal situation after the rescue. It is a down right media frenzy and that is a situation that he is NOT prepared for. He is also terrified of opening his heart and then realizing the Landry wasn't really serious.

Landry is the one I felt the worst for. He has completely upended his entire life. He isn't sorry either - he would have done anything for Kenji. But he is hurt. After everything he has done, Kenji is still treating him like the superficial "player" and charming socialite that he has convinced himself Landry is. And somehow, now the press thinks they are actually married......what?

This was a fun and easy to read story that flies by very quickly. As I mentioned before, I liked both characters and enjoyed getting to know them and also following along as the two of them tried to figure things out. It did however, make me want to go back and start with book one and go from there. Almost like that is a habit or something.......

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